At an event hosted by The Guardian, Streeting said it was 'morally unacceptable' that the country had not 'bothered' to do that in the past.

He added: ‘I'm really proud of the fact the fact the NHS is an international employer, always has been, always will be, and we're very lucky that we have people from around the world to come and work in our health and care services.

‘But the continued plundering of countries that need their own doctors and nurses to plug our short-term gaps because we couldn't be bothered to train our own people, it is morally unacceptable.

‘We are taking the steps needed to train our own homegrown talent and stop recruiting from red list countries on mental health.'

Meanwhile, Streeting has been accused of launching an 'unjustified attack' on recruitment agencies after claiming they were ‘ripping-off' the NHS.

Streeting wrote in The Times that the NHS was ‘being fleeced' by agencies that can charge up to £5,200 for a doctor working a single shift, or £2,000 for a nurse.

However, Neil Carberry, the chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), hit back, accusing Streeting of ‘labour market illiteracy'.

Carberry wrote on social media: ‘We're ready to work with you. But it has to start with ending the unjustified attacks on many dedicated professionals who were up early this morning, helping avoid cancellations of procedures across the service.'

He added: ‘Staff have a rate they want and a way they want to work. Agencies are price takers not price makers. And one of the price makers, NHS England, has run a system that forces rates up, not down, by setting unrealistic rates for staff in lower cost frameworks.'

In a letter sent to Streeting last week, seen by The Telegraph, Carberry warned that ‘banning agency workers may misdiagnose NHS staffing issues' and called for an urgent meeting.