Recruitment Of Overseas Nurses ‘Should Continue’ Says Chief Nurse

During the Covid-19 pandemic, recruitment of overseas nurses in the UK saw a sharp increase. However, whether this should continue is now subject to heavy debate. Here's our summary.

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Introduction

Student Applications Up – But So Is Overseas Recruiting

Which Way Will The UK Go?

Introduction

The NHS’ Chief Nurse Ruth May has given overseas nursing recruitment a big stamp of approval.

This runs contrary to the view presented recently by Dido Harding, who is currently vying to replace Sir Simon Stevens as head of the NHS.

The difference of opinion has brought overseas recruitment back into the spotlight, with this issue set to be fundamental to the future of NHS nursing numbers.

Student Applications Up – But So Is Overseas Recruiting

With UCAS reporting record numbers of nursing student applications, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the pandemic has helped to inspire prospective Nurses.

But in reality, this uptick in applications isn’t big enough to make a serious dent in ongoing vacancy rates or to meet the government’s ambitious targets.

Before the pandemic began, the NHS was short of around 40,000 full-time Nurses.

Perhaps even more importantly, the NHS has been actively recruiting Nurses from abroad throughout the pandemic – and in large numbers.

More than 8000 overseas Nurses were recruited between the Summer of 2020 and March 2021 alone.

They join around 170,00 NHS staff out of 1.28 million who report a non-British nationality.

Currently, it seems quite clear that the NHS needs more Nurses – both from the UK and abroad.

Which Way Will The UK Go?

Something has to give in this debate – and logic would suggest that overseas recruiting will continue.

Put simply, the NHS wouldn’t have coped during the peak of the pandemic without its overseas Nurses – or its desperate overseas recruitment drive.

Meanwhile, the government still plans to recruit an extra 50,000 Nurses by 2024/25.

And earlier this year, the government actually cut restrictions on nursing recruitment with more than 100 different countries.

Without question, there’s a difference of opinion among some of the most influential people within this debate.

But at the frontline, which Ruth May is much closer to, the view is almost certainly unanimous: this is not the time to be discussing a restriction of any recruitment channel.

As she herself explained: “bringing in the sharpest talent from abroad should go hand in hand with continuing to train up the best and brightest at home.”

Nonetheless, Dido Harding’s view will have many supporters.

And it has been noted that increasing overseas recruitment of healthcare workers may be unethical during a global pandemic.