The British healthcare sector is in "dire need" of highly skilled healthcare professionals, claims the head of a healthcare recruitment company.

As reported by Recruiter, Kate Bleasdale was responding to the home secretary's announcement that there will be a cap on the number of skilled workers from outside the European Economic Area allowed into the UK, which will stand at 21,700.

"The UK is in dire need of many highly skilled professionals," said Ms Bleasdale, whether that's someone working as a "specialist nurse... radiographer, physiotherapist, qualified social worker and doctors of all grades and specialities," Ms Bleasdale said.

She added: "We are now in a global market for healthcare staff, and demand and supply dynamics strongly suggest that we will continue to see healthy movement of health and social care professionals, both into and out of the UK and all over the globe."

The threat of talent moving on could be countered by training provision and incentives, said another healthcare recruiter. "In the meantime, we are faced with a workforce that is more transient, there is greater pressure on services, and we need to attract and retain the best talent to support our economy - not cut a valuable source of skills," John Faraguna said.

"Skilled healthcare workers move globally and the UK's loss will be other countries' gain."