In April 2020 the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh called on the Home Office to grant leave to remain to the families of those overseas clinicians who passed away from COVID-19 having served on our NHS frontlines. We warmly welcomed the Home Office’s decision in that month to grant indefinite leave to remain to the families of those doctors who lost their lives in fighting the virus.
We were therefore alarmed at a report in the Guardian (15 October 2020) of the case of Dr Basem Enany, a hardworking consultant cardiologist from Egypt. Dr Enany has been serving in the NHS treating patients with COVID-19 for months. In September he contracted the virus himself and developed Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare complication from some viruses which causes nerve damage with no known cure. He has been on a ventilator for two weeks.
It is reported that Dr Enany’s visa is due to expire in December and his wife and children are exceedingly concerned that they may be deported at that point as Dr Enany cannot complete an extension application for his existing visa in his current state. Whilst Dr Enany has not passed away from the virus, he has suffered life-changing complications from the virus whilst helping to save British lives in our NHS. It is most certainly within the spirit of the Home Office’s announcement that Dr Enany and his family should be granted the relief of at least a visa extension if not indefinite leave to remain.
We note that the Home Office has stated they will be contacting Dr Enany’s wife urgently and we further note that Dr Elnany’s local MP has been contacting the Home Office on the family’s behalf. We strongly encourage the Home Office to fulfil this and make contacting Dr Enany’s family an immediate priority.
Our NHS clinicians are a vital part not only of our Coronavirus response but of our society and our communities. They have looked after Britain and it is Britain’s duty to look after them in return.
The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh was founded in 1505.It is the oldest Surgical College in the world with just over 31,000 members in 100 countries, almost half of whom are overseas, touching every stage of the career path from medical student to consultant. We are a family of Surgeons, Dental Surgeons and members of the Surgical and Dental teams who put Patient Safety at the heart of everything they do. Our high quality education and examinations ensure that standards are upheld across all specialities and in all countries.
With our interest in professional standards, the College’s primary role – and the main concern of our Fellows and Members – is to ensure the safety of our patients and provide them with the best possible care. We do this by championing the highest standards of surgical and dental practice; through our provision of courses and educational programmes, training, examinations, and Continuous Professional Development; our liaison with external medical bodies; and by influencing healthcare policy across the UK.
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Issued by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. For further information, please contact comms@rcsed.ac.uk