The Chief Nursing Officer UK warns overseas recruitment must reduce
The chief nursing officer (CNO) of England has issued a warning regarding the continued high level of overseas recruitment of nurses to work in the UK.
Dame Ruth May stated that although all foreign nurses were welcome to work in this nation, it would “not be right” for the NHS to continue hiring 20,000 nurses with foreign training each year.
Dame Ruth announced during a Monday event that the government’s pledge to provide “50,000 more nurses” had been fulfilled, bringing the total number of additional nurses to 60,000.
The CNO informed attendees that although this increase in the workforce was cause for celebration, more nurses were still required.
The CNO informed attendees that although this increase in the workforce was cause for celebration, more nurses were still required.
She remarked, “I’m not standing in front of you to say that’s enough.” “I’m not here to tell you that I’m comfortable, that we’ve reached our goal, now let’s move on. She remarked, “I’m not saying that at all.
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What I’m trying to convey is that there are currently 60,000 more nurses than there were. We obviously need more, though.
She did, however, also disclose that foreign nurses had fulfilled more than 90% of the 50,000-target.
The Conservative Party’s 2019 election manifesto included a pledge to increase the number of foreign nurses recruited from 5,000–6,000 per year to 20,000.
Dame Ruth, who was speaking at the London celebration of preceptorship, added, “And they’re all welcome.”
However, she went on, “That can’t go on anymore. It doesn’t seem appropriate for us to keep hiring at that level.
“We will definitely keep hiring people from abroad; they are invaluable members of our teams, but not to that extent.”
She cited the goals in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan and stated that future attention and funding should be directed towards increasing the number of nurses in the country and keeping current employees.
She cited the goals in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan and stated that future attention and funding should be directed towards increasing the number of nurses in the country and keeping current employees.
The goal of the plan is to raise the number of nursing training spots by 34%, to 40,000 by 2028–2029, and by 80%, to 53,858 by 2031–2022.
But Dame Ruth conceded that there was a “challenge” with the most recent data on university applications for nursing studies from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).
According to data released last month, 24,680 individuals had applied to study nursing in England for 2024–2025 as of the January deadline. This represents a 10% decrease from the previous year, a 26% decrease from 2022, and a 32% decrease from 2021.
Dame Ruth did, however, express her pride in the fact that 60% of nursing associates were currently continuing their education towards becoming registered nurses.
“We should be proud of our ability to increase the number of people entering our professions,” she remarked.
Dame Ruth reported that retention in the nursing workforce had improved and that the leaver rate had returned to 5.8%, the level it was before the pandemic.
She listed retire-and-return and preceptorship enhancements as two elements that had aided in retention.
This year is anticipated to see a general election, and according to Dame Ruth, elections offer a “opportunity to ensure that money flows into our profession.”
She made a suggestion that funding for nursing apprenticeships might soon be available.
It happened after a clinical education lead who was in attendance at the event demanded more assistance for employers to cover the costs of hiring an apprentice.
“If you put yourself in the shoes of an 18-year-old school dropout, a future nurse, it is a buyers’ market,” the delegate stated.
“UCAS applications are down 25%, which means that the apprenticeship route will need to become a much more significant part of our offer for many organisations.
“The backfill costs are one of our main obstacles to that. So what can be done to look at salary support for apprenticeships, election year or not?
According to the plan, by 2031-22, the percentage of student nurses obtaining their training through apprenticeships will rise from the current 9% to 28%.
Dame Ruth acknowledged, “But unless we figure out the funding model, it can’t be done.”
“I hope that this month will bring about some progress on that front; I believe that a significant investment in apprenticeship funding will provide the necessary social mobility.”
During the event, Dame Ruth was also questioned regarding the development of the clinical educator workforce.
She admitted that “we’re going to have to have clinical educators on steroids, because we’re going to need lots” to meet the workforce plan’s goals.
In order to “support clinical practice in the future,” she noted preliminary discussions she was having with the Royal College of Nursing about encouraging NHS nurses to be seconded to academic institutions.
But according to Dame Ruth, “a lot more work needs to be done… to make some of that a reality.”
Regarding international hiring, a preceptorship lead from an NHS trust—who identified as an international nurse as well—asked the CNO about national initiatives in place to keep employees hired from abroad.
Dame Ruth stated that overseas nurses could receive support from “people who know their culture and their background. which is really important” thanks to the international nursing and midwifery associations (INMAs) in England.
She pointed out that there were now 36 INMAs in the UK, a considerable increase from the three that existed prior to the pandemic.
She did, however, add that employers could do more to acknowledge the prior experience of internationally educated nurses, a concern that has gained attention in recent years.
“Many people who are coming over on a band 5 actually have experience as ITU sisters or as senior members of an organisation, and we don’t always recognise that,” the woman stated.
Dame Ruth stated that if employers acknowledged the prior experience of foreign nurses, “we’d be able to retain them because we’d be paying them at the appropriate grade.”
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