Reform UK politicians and anti-immigration activists are increasingly blaming high migration for the UK’s GP appointment crisis, citing data that 752,000 people from abroad registered with doctors last year. However, this narrative overlooks the fact that over 40% of licensed doctors in the UK qualified overseas, meaning the healthcare system is actually sustained by the very people being criticized. Research further indicates that migrants are generally younger and healthier than the aging native population, and areas with higher immigrant populations do not typically experience longer wait times.
Date: February 19, 2026. Source: aljazeera.com