Complex care provider, Cornerstone Healthcare, has welcomed nine new starters from overseas this month through the government’s Certificate of Sponsorship scheme.

The Health and Social Care Visa allows eligible health and social care professionals from outside the European Union to reside and work in the UK.

Cornerstone’s Group chief executive, Johann van Zyl, said: “We are delighted to welcome our new staff to the Cornerstone family. These individuals are highly skilled healthcare professionals who will only strengthen our claim as the UK’s best complex care provider. We appreciate the huge life decision that they have made to make the UK their home and are supporting their resettlement wherever we can whether that be sourcing and helping to fund accommodation initially, to taking them to the nearest supermarket.

“At Cornerstone we welcome the best individuals, from around the world to join us and because of that we have a wonderfully diverse staffing group, however, since Brexit we have seen our EU staff drop by 18%.”

In addition, to staff from India the care provider is also in the process of interviewing and recruiting nurses from Africa. Cornerstone has chosen to utilise the Certificates of Sponsorship to overseas workers to help combat the staffing crisis currently faced by the social care sector in the UK. Social care consultants, Carterwood, recently reported that the cost of agency has doubled since 2021, placing further strain on a sector heavily impacted by the cost-of-living crisis.