Health authorities cautioned that foreign recruits could not permanently replace openings, which explains why more than a third of doctors and three out of ten nurses in England are foreign nationals. According to recent study, the percentage of NHS employment in England held by non-UK citizens has increased significantly and is currently projected to be one in five of the workforce. This is the first time this milestone has been reached. There has been a sharp rise in the proportion of hospital and community health service doctors who are non-UK nationals, which now stands at more than a third of the total (36.3 per cent), up from around three in 10 (30.1 per cent) in 2020 and just over a quarter (26.6 per cent) in 2016. Indian was again the most common non-UK nationality among this group, accounting for 8 per cent of all doctors, followed by Pakistani (3.7 per cent), Egyptian (2.9 per cent) and Nigerian (2.0 per cent). Of the 335,763 full-time equivalent (FTE) nurses and health visitors in England in September 2023 whose nationality was known, three in 10 (30 per cent) were non-UK nationals. This is up from just under two in 10 (19.7 per cent) three years earlier, in September 2020, and is the highest proportion since current data began in 2009. The most common non-UK nationality is Indian, accounting for 10.1 per cent of all FTE nurses and health visitors, followed by Filipino (7.7 per cent), Nigerian (2.5 per cent) and Irish (1.1 per cent). Of the total 1,282,623 FTE hospital and community health service staff in England in September 2023 whose nationality was known, more than one in five (20.4 per cent) were non-UK nationals, the Press Association analysis found. This is up from 13 per cent in September 2016 and 11.9 per cent in September 2009, when the data series began.