NHS nurse forced to send children home to Kenya because she couldn't afford Home Office health surcharge

Evaline Omondi says it was an 'awful moment' when she realised she would have to scatter family

Finston and Lovinnah were taken out of school in the UK and sent to Kenya because of Home Office charges (Eva Omondi)

An NHS nurse had to send her two youngest children home to Kenya because she could not afford the thousands of pounds she would have to have paid for the government’s “health surcharge” on workers coming from outside the European Economic Area.

Evaline Omondi, a nurse from Kenya was asked to come up with an immediate payment of £3,600, to cover three years of fees for two adults and her four children.

Ms Omondi, who works in Luton, Bedfordshire, described the introduction of the charge as an “awful moment” that has scattered her family.

They were forced to take out loans for the upfront costs, but still did not have enough and she had to take her youngest children, Finston aged six and Lovinnah, aged eight, out of school in the UK and send them back to Kenya.

The Royal College of Nursing is calling for nurses and other health workers that the NHS depends on to be exempted from the £200 per family member for each year of their work permit, saying it is “tearing families apart”.

The charge was introduced by the Conservatives in 2015 to deter “health tourism”, but it is due to double, to £400 and £300 for students, later this year.

As the NHS in England currently employs 25,000 nurses from outside the EEA and has more than 34,000 full time nurse vacancies it cannot afford to lose more staff.

The surcharge issue will be the subject of a debate at its annual policy setting conference, in Belfast this week, introduced by Ms Omondi, who will say: “The introduction of the surcharge fee was an awful moment.

(Eva Omondi (Eva Omondi)

“The fees had to be paid immediately, so we had to take out loans to cover them which still affect my family to this day. But on top of the visa charges, and childcare costs, we could not meet the cost and my children had to move back to Kenya. A family who came together is now in pieces, scattered all over the place.

“I try to speak to them on the phone before they sleep but it is hard with the time difference and my work, so I sometimes don’t get to talk to them.”

In a keynote address to the RCN conference on Sunday, chief executive Janet Davies will say she was “shocked and embarrassed” at the government’s treatment of the Windrush generation, many of who are valued NHS colleagues.

“It is shameful that families are being torn apart by this policy too – uprooting children from their family, friends and school,” she will add. “The Government must not put Spanish, Portuguese or Italian colleagues through same after Brexit.

She will add: “When facing staff shortages in NHS and care, the UK has depended on professionals from around the world.

“I say to the Government today: these people keep the NHS running. They are the very last people who should ever be sent upfront invoices for healthcare – get your priorities in order.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Government fully recognises the contribution that international professionals make to the UK and to our health service.

“The surcharge offers access to health care services that are far more comprehensive and at a much lower cost than many other countries.

“The income generated goes directly to NHS services, helping to protect and sustain our world-class healthcare system for everyone who uses it.”