The government said on Monday it would cut back on hiring junior nurses from abroad as there was no longer a shortage --- a move branded by nurses leaders as "short-termism in the extreme."
"Large-scale international nurse recruitment across the NHS was only ever intended to be a short-term measure," said Health Minister Lord Warner.
"We now have more than 379,000 qualified nurses working in the NHS, 82,000 more than in 1997 as well as record levels of nurses in training."
[Reuters, 03 July 2006]
This is bad news for a country which is one of the world's top importer of nurses. But I bet this will only be a setback for them. The exodus will continue. There will be other countries to go to.
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Even nurses in the UK denouned this rather "short termism" as they call it.
If this is true, then, among countries who import nurses, the UK manage to meet its shortage in less than 10 years? Wow! Nurses are skeptic as there are about 150,000 retirees in 5 to 10 years. How are they going to fill the gap? NHS says there are more than enough nurses in the UK, there are fresh graduates. Those affected by the ban are in bands 5 & 6 where most nurses fall.
Nurses say they are made the scapegoat of NHS's financial mess, saying that the've send a lot in training and recruitment. But then again as Health Sec. Patricia Hewitt says, it's the "best year" ever for NHS.
Dont despair Fil nurses, look to the West, the US needs more of your skills up to 2015, Canada up to 2011. More time to save, right?
I hope the NHS will not scamper for nurses abroad when time comes. :)
the US will always be a place to go...they may have a time when they will "rest", but their need will always be there.
i guess there's always ireland to go to. 2 years ago, medyo marami na ring nurses ang andun. and who knows, the other EU countries will soon follow.
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