Official data reveals a sharp and worrying decline in the number of overseas nurses and midwives choosing to work in the United Kingdom, with experts pointing to increased racism and stricter immigration policies as key factors.
A Dramatic Drop in Vital Recruitment
Between April and September this year, only 6,321 internationally trained nurses and midwives joined the professional register to practise in the UK. This figure represents a drastic reduction, being almost half the 12,534 who joined during the same six-month period in the previous year. The statistics were published by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), the industry regulator.
Compounding the problem, the NMC's workforce data also indicates that more international staff are now leaving Britain. Health organisations have sounded the alarm, stating this dual trend of reduced arrivals and increased departures will severely hamper the already understaffed National Health Service. They warn it will become even harder to deliver expected levels of care, inevitably leading to longer waiting times for patients.
Racism and Rule Changes Deterring Workers
Suzie Bailey, an NHS workforce specialist at the King's Fund think tank, stated: "The dramatic fall in international nurse and midwife recruitment and retention should be sounding alarm bells for politicians, health and care leaders and people who rely on health and care services."
NHS staff groups attribute the UK's declining appeal as a destination to a rising tide of hostility towards migrants and significant government changes to immigration rules. Notably, the Labour government has extended the time overseas workers must wait before applying for indefinite leave to remain or claiming benefits from five years to ten. Critics argue this move panders to anti-immigration sentiment.
Louie Horne, the Unison union's national nursing officer, commented: "For decades, nurses and midwives from around the world have brought invaluable skills to the NHS. It would be a disaster to lose that contribution to vital services. This exposes the damage being inflicted by the government's unfair and ill-conceived immigration changes."
Health Secretary Wes Streeting recently remarked that NHS staff were bearing the brunt of what he described as a return to "ugly" 1970s and 1980s-style racism in Britain.
Specific Countries and the Overall Picture
The NMC's data shows particularly steep declines from nations that have been traditional sources of NHS nursing staff:
- Arrivals from India, the largest supplier of foreign nurses, fell by 58%.
- Recruitment from the Philippines dropped by 68%.
- Numbers from Nigeria decreased by 28% and from Ghana by 9%.
The NMC noted that overseas staff might also be opting for other countries offering higher salaries, or that the NHS's push to recruit more UK-trained staff could be a factor. Paul Rees, the NMC's chief executive, said: "The high-growth era of international recruitment appears to be ending."
Despite the alarming recruitment slump, the total number of nurses, midwives and nursing associates on the NMC register has reached a record high of 860,801. This includes a record 96,593 men, who now make up 12% of the register.
This trend among nurses mirrors a similar shift for overseas-trained doctors. A General Medical Council report last month found that doctors from abroad are leaving the UK in record numbers, while the previous surge in those joining the NHS has plateaued.
