UK still poaches nurses- despite Labour's promise
Britain has again been accused of breaking its promise not to poach nurses from developing countries. Percy Mahlati, deputy director-general of the South African department of health, said the National Health Service was continuing to recruit nurses indirectly through private agencies.
Four years ago the NHS agreed to end direct recruitment from about 150, mainly developing, countries. But a loophole emerged as private agencies started recruiting nurses and hiring them out as agency staff to the NHS.
The latest figures from the Nursing and Midwifery Council show that more than 2,800 nurses and midwives from “banned” countries registered to practise in the UK in the year ending in March. Almost 1,000 registered from South Africa.
The attraction for nurses is clear. An experienced theatre nurse can earn £35,000 a year in Britain compared with £7,000 a year in South Africa.
A researcher called the MTA Medical recruitment agency in Johannesburg claiming to be a South African nurse responding to the company’s advertisement in a nursing journal and was told the agency had jobs at the Queen Victoria NHS Trust burns unit in West Sussex, and that “because of the terrible need I think they would probably waiver the moratorium”.
A Department of Health spokesman said: “The new code is in force but recruitment agencies and NHS trusts were given until December to allow them to make the changes to contracts to recruit domestically.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1817417,00.html
Four years ago the NHS agreed to end direct recruitment from about 150, mainly developing, countries. But a loophole emerged as private agencies started recruiting nurses and hiring them out as agency staff to the NHS.
The latest figures from the Nursing and Midwifery Council show that more than 2,800 nurses and midwives from “banned” countries registered to practise in the UK in the year ending in March. Almost 1,000 registered from South Africa.
The attraction for nurses is clear. An experienced theatre nurse can earn £35,000 a year in Britain compared with £7,000 a year in South Africa.
A researcher called the MTA Medical recruitment agency in Johannesburg claiming to be a South African nurse responding to the company’s advertisement in a nursing journal and was told the agency had jobs at the Queen Victoria NHS Trust burns unit in West Sussex, and that “because of the terrible need I think they would probably waiver the moratorium”.
A Department of Health spokesman said: “The new code is in force but recruitment agencies and NHS trusts were given until December to allow them to make the changes to contracts to recruit domestically.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1817417,00.html
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