NHS trust warned doctors on visas who chose to strike will be reported to BORDER FORCE

An NHS trust has sparked anger after warning that immigrant doctors going to picket lines could be referred to Border Force.

An unnamed medic at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust sent a message to staff warning that any medic on a work visa going on strike would have their ‘absence’ reported to the Home Office – making any future visa renewals ‘problematic could make.

The message, which was circulated on social media, drew the ire of junior medics and the British Medical Association (BMA), who said it will “create unnecessary fear and doubt” among doctors.

It comes as young doctors must leave for 96 hours starting April 11 as part of the No. 10 profession’s worsening dispute over pay.

The increasingly acrimonious spat has seen 180,000 appointments canceled so far after medics took to the picket lines last month, with even more disruption expected next week.

University Hospital Lewisham part of Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust where the staff member sent the message to internationally trained junior medics

Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust have admitted the message came from one of their employees.

But a spokesperson insisted this is not their policy and apologized for the distress caused.

In a message sent via Whatsapp on Sunday, the senior medic, believed to be an adviser, said: “Any doctor who has a visa sponsored by the Trust and decides to strike, the Trust will report his absence to Border Force, and this can cause problems when extending their visa.’

They continued: ‘Please note that this is not an advisor’s decision, but a trust’s decision and is in line with most (if not all) of the other trusts in London.’

Border Force is the law enforcement arm of the Home Office and is responsible for conducting immigration checks on people entering the UK.

Foreign-trained medics, who are becoming an increasing part of the NHS workforce with a third of new recruits now from abroad, are legally entitled to join a union and thus strike if a vote is successful .

As with British-born workers, it is illegal for employers to prevent participation in legal industrial action or use that participation to influence visa applications.

The post sparked outrage among medics on social media who said it was “shameful,” “appalling” or “xenophobic nonsense.”

And the BMA also waded in line, with union leader Dr Latifa Patel saying the message was unacceptable.

“We are deeply concerned about the impact of this announcement, which will unnecessarily create fear and doubt among visa-holding doctors in training about their legal right to strike,” she said.

“We, the BMA, are clear that we will not take any form of industrial action that will affect the legal status of a doctor’s visa — in the future or in the present.”

She added that the BMA will support any eligible member who has been penalized for taking part in their strike action and has issued a warning to other NHS trusts.

“To employers – we remind you of your responsibility to act professionally – we have a zero tolerance for bullying and harassment,” she said.

A spokesman for Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust told MailOnline: ‘This is absolutely not our Trust policy.

“We are and always have been fully supportive of everyone’s right to strike without judgement, fear or consequence.”

They added that the message was sent in a local Whatsapp group that “made a mistake.”

“It has been corrected internally at the highest level and we have assured all teams, including our international colleagues, that this is not our position,” they said.

Nearly 325,000 surgeries and appointments have been canceled due to NHS strikes this winter

The spokesperson apologized for the distress the message had caused staff at a time when “we are all working together to do our very best for our patients.”

The upcoming BMA strike action is scheduled for just after the Bank Holiday weekend when the NHS will provide a ‘Christmas Day’ level of service and, traditionally, a busy period for the health service.

Physicians in training want an inflation-slowing 35 percent that they say is necessary to address years of wage stagnation.

The government and the union have not committed to further negotiations after negotiations broke down last month.

BMA advice for junior medics on visa strike action warns that they may be reported to the Home Office in some circumstances.

This also applies if they are absent from work for 10 consecutive working days and if their salary falls to a certain limit due to a strike.

They add that this does not necessarily mean that the Home Office will act against a doctor as this is left to their discretion.