A quarter of nurses and midwives working in the UK are now recruited from abroad, figures show.
The record-high 200,000 foreign-trained members of the workforce now represent 23.8 per cent of the Register, according to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
Out of the total, 68,000 are from India, 50,000 trained in the Philippines and 15,000 are from Nigeria.
Health leaders said the findings show the NHS system for training homegrown nurses is ‘not fit for purpose’ and warned the UK workforce is ‘increasingly inexperienced’ with heavy reliance on candidates from overseas.
It comes as recent figures revealed net migration to Britain hit a record 2.2million over the past three years – an addition to the country almost double the size of Birmingham.
Top nurses have warned that planned government reforms for the health service ‘stand no chance’ if issues with recruitment and retention are not addressed.
The report reveals that while there are now a record number of nurses and midwives on the register – 841,367 in total – the number of those leaving the profession has also risen.
The figures show 14,780 UK-educated professionals joined the register between April and September, a fall of 1.8 per cent compared to the previous six months.
Meanwhile 11,569 UK-educated staff left the register, some 1.6 per cent higher than the figure reported in the six months to September 2023.
The NMC also said international recruitment ‘could be starting to slow’.
Kuljit Dhillon, interim executive director of strategy and insight at the NMC, said: ‘Nursing and midwifery are among the UK’s most trusted professions, so as we head into another tough winter, we hope there is small comfort in the growth of our register to a record 841,000.
‘At the same time, there are notes of caution in our data around international recruitment, which has been a pillar of workforce growth in recent years.
‘We’ve seen a fall in internationally educated joiners and an even higher proportional rise in leavers, although it’s important to view leavers’ data through the lens of a growing register.’
However, Professor Nicola Ranger, general secretary and chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), called the figures ‘bad news for patients’.
‘Nurse recruitment is slowing, the numbers of new starters is falling and we are witnessing a devastating increase in people leaving within five years of joining,’ she said.
‘At a time of widespread vacancies, these trends are incredibly worrying for our NHS and the people that rely on its care.
‘Across health and care services, international recruitment was utilised to plug rota gaps, but we are now watching as thousands of overseas staff choose to go elsewhere.
‘This comes as the number of student nurses in the UK dropped considerably again this year, showing worse years seem be ahead.
‘As demand for care soars, ministers across the UK need to recognise this as a perfect storm for patient safety and take action to improve recruitment and retention.
‘Working for low pay, in understaffed, under-resourced services takes its toll with burnout pushing highly-trained nursing staff out the door.’
Top nurses have warned that planned government reforms for the health service ‘stand no chance’ if issues with recruitment and retention are not addressed
She urged policymakers to consider measures such as student loan forgiveness schemes to ensure there are enough home-grown staff, adding the Government’s NHS reforms ‘stand no chance of being delivered without addressing these fundamentals’.
Dr Billy Palmer, senior fellow at think tank Nuffield Trust, welcomed the growth in the register but warned the workforce is facing shortages.
He also described the figures as ‘a chronic symptom of a domestic clinical education system that is not fit for purpose’.
‘The UK’s nursing and midwifery workforce is increasingly inexperienced and facing deeply worrying shortages in important areas, with learning disability nursing numbers still lower than five years ago,’ he said.
‘Concerningly, the number of nurses and midwives with over ten years’ experience is falling, and 28 per cent of staff have five years’ experience or less – echoing similar trends seen in the latest registration data for doctors.’
He added: ‘We have warned the NHS is failing to attract homegrown nurses, with new domestic joiners having previously fallen by more than 6,000 over two years.
‘Now, the heavy reliance on overseas joiners continues, with nearly half of new nursing and midwifery registrants educated outside of the UK.’
A Department of Health spokesman said: ‘Nurses have been overworked for years, leaving them burnt out and demoralised. That’s why we accepted the recommendations of the independent pay review bodies to award them and other NHS staff an above inflation pay rise.
‘We will work with staff to rebuild our health services and give the NHS the stability and certainty it needs.’
@Daily Mail (UK)