According to the latest half-year statistics, international recruitment of nurses and midwives has decreased.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) UK register now includes 778.300 nurses (+1.7% since April), as well as 45.200 midwives (+2.4%), 11,600 nursing assistants (+6.2%) and 6.300 dual-registrants, those who are both registered as a nurse and a midwife.
More than 200,000 international educated professionals are now on the UK’s nursing and midwifery register, representing 23.8%. Of the registered professionals, 67.600 were educated either in India (+8.3%), or in the Philippines (+2.2%).
In the six-month period ending 30 September, however, there were 16.6% fewer international professional professionals who joined the list (12,500), and 33% fewer who left it (2,600).
Kuljit Dhillon said that the NMC’s interim executive director for strategy and insight stated: “Nursing, midwifery, and other healthcare professions are some of the most trusted in the UK. As we enter another harsh winter, it is our hope that the record growth of the NMC register at 841,000 will provide some comfort.
“At the time, our data also contain cautionary notes around international recruitment. This has been an important pillar in recent years of growth of the workforce. We’ve seen an increase in the proportion of leavers who are internationally educated, and a decrease in those who join.
Our data and insights are intended to support UK workforce planning and research, and ensure the most effective delivery services for the health and well-being of people in communities throughout the UK.
The NMC Register mid-year update revealed that the number of professionals who first joined the NMC Register between April and Septembre fell by 9.2%, to 27,300. This compares to 30,100 for the six-month period ending September 2023.
Total leavers increased by 6.3%, to 14,142. (This compares to 13,305 in the six-month period ending September 2023). The number of leavers as a percentage of the growing list is unchanged, at 1.7%.
The number of professionals who leave the register after five years of service or less also increases: 1,800 during the six-month period ending in September, compared with 1,200 for the same time last year. This is an increase in 48.6% over the six-month period, but it is unchanged as a percentage of the total register (0.2%).
The NMC continues to see people join the NMC register from countries on the “red list”, places where the World Health Organisation has prohibited active recruitment. Individual health workers from countries on the red list are allowed to seek employment, but employers must not actively recruit from these countries.
The data shows a decline in the number of joiners who were educated in countries on the red list, such as Nigeria (-16.1%), and Ghana (-3.5%) compared to last year’s same period. During the past six-months, recruitment of professionals with a Nepalese education has doubled.
Dr Billy Palmer is a senior fellow with the Nuffield Trust, a health think tank. He said that the number of midwives and nurses who have over ten years of experience was decreasing, and that 28% of the staff had five years or less of experience. This trend is similar to the trends in the most recent registration data of doctors. This shift towards less experienced staff could affect productivity, and place a strain upon those who mentor and supervise these employees.
“Today’s NMC numbers are a chronic sign of a clinical education system in the United States that is unfit for purpose. The NHS has failed to recruit homegrown nurses. In the past two years, new domestic joiners have fallen by over 6,000. The NHS continues to rely heavily on overseas recruits, with more than half of all new nurses and midwives registering outside the UK.
Policymakers and educational leaders can’t ignore these trends. It is important that they are bold and consider measures such as student loan forgiveness programs to ensure UK midwives and nurses have enough experienced, domestically trained staff to maintain the NHS workforce in the future.
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