MORE than two in five international health staff who came to work in Britain are now considering leaving the country due to anti-immigration hysteria, Unison research suggests today.

Nearly one in four — 23 per cent — don’t feel welcome and 19 per cent feel unsafe as a result of anti-immigrant rhetoric, the poll of almost 1,900 workers said.

Ministers want to at least double the period required for individuals to gain settled status, with low-paid social care and NHS workers having to wait 15 years. 

The union warned the plans to make it harder for migrant workers to settle in the country will destroy the NHS.

Unison head of health Helga Pile said: “The UK’s health and care services would collapse without the skilled workers who’ve come here from overseas. 

“How we treat them matters — they should be respected, not taken advantage of and abused.

“It’s shocking so many NHS staff say they don’t feel safe or welcome in this country. No wonder so many are thinking of leaving.

“These findings make it clear ministers must think again about trebling the settlement period for crucial migrant health and care staff. Otherwise, the workforce crisis will get worse.

“Politicians of all stripes need to stop demonising people who are doing crucial work, often for very low pay. They’re the ones shoring up the UK’s crumbling health and care sectors. We simply cannot do without them.”

Unison warned a mass exodus of overseas workers would be a disaster for the NHS after figures released in December showed a 50 per cent drop in the number of international nurses, midwives and nursing associates coming to Britain.

About one in five NHS staff working in England have a non-UK nationality and the social care sectors also rely heavily on staff from places such as the Philippines, India and Nigeria, said the union.

Stand up to Racism co-convener Sabby Dhalu said the poll’s findings are “a damning indictment of government policy.”

She warned that the NHS “is deeply valued across Britain [and] cannot function without its international workforce.

“Making it harder to secure indefinite leave to remain only deepens this crisis and risks fuelling far-right racism. 

“We urge the government to reverse these measures and, instead of conceding to racism, take a firm stand against it.”