With locally trained nurses bailing on Britain’s NHS, the system has been left desperately importing foreign staff to stay afloat.
UK nurses are bailing on Britain for greener pastures abroad as the country’s socialised healthcare service, the National Health Service (NHS), finds itself desperately importing a foreign workforce to stay afloat.
Senior officials from the Nursing and Midwifery Council are now expressing concern that British healthcare may now be too reliant on foreign staff, and that a future global shock akin to the COVID-19 pandemic could leave the socialised healthcare service chronically short of staff.
According to a report published on Wednesday by the organisation, just under half of new nurses registered in the UK were trained internationally, with two-thirds of that number coming from either India or the Philippines.
By contrast, the NHS saw record numbers of nurses and midwives leave the free at the point of use service, with many citing too much pressure or a bad workplace culture as the reason for their departure.
“…growth of the workforce has become more reliant on internationally trained professionals joining our register,” said Andrea Sutcliffe, who serves as Chief Executive of the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
“These professionals make a welcome and vital contribution to our nation’s health and wellbeing. But we can’t take them for granted,” she continued.
“Two years ago, we felt the pandemic’s impact on global travel; the number of international joiners to our register fell sharply,” the association head went on to say. “A future pandemic or other global disruption could see history repeat itself, but with an even bigger impact on the overall growth of the register.”
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With the service now seemingly becoming so reliant on nurses from abroad, some have expressed fear that the NHS’s need to bring in staff from abroad may negatively affect patients.
“We again question how sustainable it is to recruit half of all new nurses from around the world,” The Telegraph reports Royal College of Nursing chief executive Pat Cullen as saying.
“The UK’s health and care workforce is proudly diverse, but it must be done ethically and come at the same time as increased investment in education and domestic workers,” she continued. “In the interests of safe patient care, ministers across the UK must act decisively to retain today’s experienced nurses and inspire tomorrow’s.”
Another senior healthcare official, Saffron Cordery of membership organisation NHS providers, expressed concern that the rise in the number of staff leaving the public healthcare service could worsen already problematic staff shortages in certain areas.
“Workforce shortages across the NHS, with more than 110,000 vacancies, are a huge risk to patient safety by impacting the quality of care that overstretched staff can provide – ‘too much pressure’ is the third most common reason cited by leavers,” Cordery said, while also describing the staff exodus as “concerning”.
“We are already 2000 midwives short in England, yet the number in the NHS continues to fall while demands on maternity services grow,” the Chief Executive of the Royal College of Midwives, Gill Walton, meanwhile said regarding the system’s haemorrhaging of staff, warning that shortages could lead to negative outcomes for those who need care.
“Other UK countries are also facing pressures,” she continued. “This is not sustainable and is without doubt having an impact on the safety and quality of care for women, babies, and their families.”
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