THERESA MAY must guarantee NHS workers from EU countries can stay in Britain, the head of NHS England said yesterday.

Simon Stevens said the health service would continue to rely on foreign workers in spite of moves to encourage more British people to train in medical roles.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, he urged the Prime Minister to introduce “bold and broad” post-Brexit reforms to protect the health service. He warned that hospitals and care homes could close if workers were forced to return to their home countries.

“As the largest employer in Europe, the NHS needs to do a better job training and looking after staff,” he said. “New apprenticeships can help many ‘left-behind’ communities alienated from modern Britain. Even then, we’re still going to need committed professionals from abroad.

“Australian-style immigration points systems all admit nurses, doctors and other skilled experts. It should be uncontroversial to provide early reassurance to foreign NHS employees about their continued welcome.”

When standing for the Tory leadership, Ms May said she could not guarantee that European workers settled in Britain would be able to remain after Britain leaves the EU.

Labour shadow health secretary Diane Abbott welcomed the NHS England chief executive’s intervention.

“The NHS and the social-care sectors are just two of the key parts of our economy which are dependent on the skills and dedication of workers from overseas,” she said. “Our NHS would struggle to cope without them and patients would be put at risk.”