LONDON: There is concern in the United Kingdom over its growing dependency on recruitment from overseas to try and fill the many nursing posts currently vacant, reports suggest.
The latest figures from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) show a rise in internationally-educated nurses joining the workforce.
Annual data shows the NMC
register of nurses, midwives and nursing associates has grown by 30,351 to a record 788,638. There were a record 52,148 new joiners last year, almost half of whom are internationally educated, it added.
Internationally-educated
Though the number of UK-educated joiners rose by 8.5 per cent to more than 27,142, the data reflected about half (25,006) of the newly registered professionals being internationally educated.
With international recruitment continuing at a significant rate, professionals educated around the world now account for one in five nurses, midwives and nursing associates who can practise in the UK, according to the data.
In the context of a global nursing shortage, this is unsustainable and potentially unethical, stated NMC.
Unsustainable levels
Its reliance on foreign nurses has reached “unsustainable” levels, reported The Times recently, adding that the government has been warned as new analysis reveals that international recruits have accounted for two thirds of the rise in numbers since 2019.
Ministers have repeatedly promised to boost the domestic supply of health staff amid warnings that reliance on international workers leaves the NHS (National Health Service) at the mercy of global labour markets, it added.
India and the Philippines are the key sources for NHS recruitment of nurses. They are being increasingly targeted by countries including Germany and Canada.
