The Royal College of Nursing has called for UK governments to invest in expanding the domestic workforce, and to tackle unethical overseas recruitment from off-limits countries.
This call comes after recent figures were released by the Nursing and Midwifery Council which show an increase in the number of nurses joining the register from 14 “red list” countries.
“Ministers are overly reliant on nurses from countries with critical workforce shortages”
Pat Cullen
The red list is derived from the World Health Organization (WHO), which has identified 47 countries as facing the most pressing health workforce shortages, and should therefore not be targeted for systematic recruitment by international employers.
The NMC data confirmed that almost half of all new joiners to its register during 2021-22 were from overseas.
This increase has led to concerns that UK governments are becoming increasingly reliant on countries with workforce shortages themselves, to fill the thousands of nursing vacancies across UK health and care services.
In a recent analysis, RCN has called on UK governments to tackle this reliance by investing in expanding the domestic workforce.
It has also called for an introduction of bilateral agreements, with the involvement of nursing associations, to ensure all international recruitment is mutually beneficial for these countries.
Pat Cullen
RCN general secretary and chief executive, Pat Cullen, said: “Ministers are overly reliant on nurses from countries with critical workforce shortages.
“Meanwhile, their lack of investment in UK nursing staff – both today’s and those of the future – is deeply concerning.”
She warned: “International recruitment must be ethical, beyond reproach and come at the same time as increased investment in education and domestic professionals.”
At RCN Congress 2022, a motion was passed unanimously to lobby employers to formulate human resource policies for ethical overseas recruitment, with transparent terms and conditions of employment, amid concerns about international nurses being exploited or misled.
During the debate, held in Glasgow, Charlotte Collings, a recruitment and retention nurse at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, questioned whether it was ethical for UK employers to consider applications from nurses in red list countries who apply on their own accord, noting how current guidance on this matter was unclear.
“The countries that are driving the process need to be sure they are not exacerbating shortages in lower income countries”
Howard Catton
She said: “We have hundreds and thousands of nurses and midwives actively seeking employment directly with employers who reside in red list countries.
“These people meet our criteria to be employed and we are legally able to provide visas for these applicants. However, there’s no national standard or additional clarity given to organisations on whether this practice should be allowed, or if this is unethical.”
In response to the recent analysis from the RCN, Caroline Waterfield, director of development and employment at NHS Employers, said: “Whilst international recruitment has played a valuable role in helping to grow the nursing workforce this has been coupled with an emphasis on recruitment into university nurse training programmes and the degree apprenticeship scheme.”
Touching on the issue raised by Ms Collings, Ms Waterfield said the UK government’s code of practice for international recruitment helped employers ensure they were adhering to ethical practices, but she stressed that people from any country could apply for NHS jobs individually.
Howard Catton
Meanwhile, International Council of Nurses (ICN) chief executive Howard Catton said his organisation was aware that active international recruitment from low- and middle-income countries was increasing, and that this had been “driven by the post-Covid demand for nurses in wealthier countries”.
“Individual nurses who aspire to live and work overseas must have the freedom of movement to do so, but the countries that are driving the process need to be sure they are not exacerbating shortages in lower income countries and widening existing global inequalities,” he added.
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