Unfair portrayal

ANOTHER week, another letter blaming immigrants for our problems but with no evidence or analysis to support the claims. Patricia Davies (Argus Letters, September 6) sees immigration as being responsible for the problems of the NHS (“hospitals are creaking at the seams”). 
She forgets that these same hospitals are heavily dependent on immigrant staff – skilled doctors and nurses in particular. Without them, the seams would be bursting not just creaking. 
The problems in the NHS result from many factors including the ageing population, underinvestment (we only spend 7% of GDP on the NHS compared to the EU average of 11%) and, in parts of Wales, inability to recruit sufficient GPs.
Ms Davies refers to the “open door policy”. Let us remember that such a policy only applies to EU citizens, all others face restrictions. So I assume Ms Davies’ comments apply particularly to EU immigrants. EU citizens in the UK tend to be young and so usually put more into the NHS in taxation than they take out. Many businesses depend upon their contribution. 
Significant levels of immigration can create challenges (as well as opportunities), particularly in the short term, which is why the migration impacts fund introduced by Gordon Brown but scrapped by David Cameron was a positive step, but to call EU immigration an “absolute disaster” is a gross exaggeration which flies in the face of reason. Only last week a Polish man was murdered in Harlow in what may well have been a hate crime. There has been a significant increase in hate crimes following the EU referendum. I am sure Ms Davies is as appalled by this as I am. 
However, incautious remarks which unfairly portray immigrants in purely negative terms risk encouraging the attitudes which lead to such attacks.