The nursing and midwifery profession in the UK is experiencing heightened levels of diversity. The number of healthcare professionals from ethnic minority backgrounds joining the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register has significantly increased in the past year. This increase is good news for the profession, as promoting diversity ensures that the UK healthcare system is equipped to cater to the vast needs and preferences of patients from all ethnic backgrounds. This trend is likely to continue as the healthcare industry as a whole continues to focus on promoting diversity and inclusivity.
Reports from the NMC’s register tells us how many nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom (UK) and nursing associates in England are currently able to practise. They publish data from their register every six months. With more international professionals joining the register, and with UK joiners becoming more ethnically diverse, the ethnic profile of the NMC register is changing.
Their annual reports cover the 12 month period from April to March every year, but they also publish a mid-year report covering the six month period from April to September.
In the six month period from April to September 2022, the number of nurses, midwives and nursing associates on the NMC register grew by nearly two percent to a total of 771,445.
This growth is being driven in large part by the number of internationally educated joiners, which continues to rise at a much faster rate than UK joiners.
The number of nurses, midwives and nursing associates registered to practise in the UK has grown to a record total of 788,638.
2022-2023 saw the highest number of new joiners to the register in a single year, more than 52,000.
These include 27,142 new professionals educated in the UK and 25,006 professionals educated around the world, mainly outside Europe.
Just over 731,000 are nurses, nearly 42,000 are midwives, just over 9,300 are nursing associates and just over 6,500 are both nurses and midwives.
Between April 2022 and March 2023 the number of nurses, midwives and nursing associates on their register grew by just over 30,300.
There were a large number of people on the register who came from outside of Europe. There are now over 136,000 people from outside Europe. That is just over 22,500 more than last year.
How is Servisource adding value to this?
By leveraging our trusted relationships with marketing specialists, overseas agencies and our international network including bases in India and the UK, we use the right skills and knowledge to interview, screen and vet candidates from around the world.
To mitigate any potential issues in the recruitment process, our team provide support to all candidates travelling from abroad, via a meet and greet service at the airport as well as regular post-placement contact to ensure candidates adapt to the right place.
It is an encouraging sign that the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register has become more ethnically diverse. Bearing in mind that nurses and midwives are the frontline change-makers within healthcare, it is more important than ever for them to be representative of the communities they serve. Patient outcomes will improve due to a greater sense of understanding, trustworthiness, and acceptance.
The NMC deserves enormous credit for their efforts in embracing diversity amongst health professionals as well as their commitment to ongoing improvement. With these developments in place, better health and wellbeing services can be provided on a wider scale to ensure everyone receives the care they deserve.
The NMC Announce Employers Can Provide Supporting Information For English Language Proficiency
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), an independent regulator, focuses on nurses, midwives, and nursing associates in the UK and England. Their purpose is to make sure that the practices of nursing and midwifery are secure, effective, and compassionate. They oversee and monitor these professions and the public, to ensure their well-being.
When nurses and midwives register with the NMC, the NMC needs to be satisfied that the necessary knowledge of English is evident in order to communicate clearly and effectively. This is the requirement for all applicants.
There are three types of evidence that are accepted in order to demonstrate this to practice in the UK. The NMC accepts one of these three types, outlined below, without needing further evidence. It is advised to meet these language evidence requirements before applying to them.
If you have completed an NMC-approved pre-registration nurse, midwife or nursing associate programme that was taught and examined in English. They will accept this as evidence that you have the necessary knowledge of English.
To demonstrate that you have practised in English, you must provide us with evidence that you have recently practised for one year as a nurse, midwife or nursing associate in a country where country where English is a majority spoken language.
There are two language tests as evidence of your ability to communicate effectively in English: the International English Language Test System (IELTS) Academic and the Occupational English Test (OET).
You must achieve the required score in each of the four areas of reading, writing, listening and speaking.
Changes to their English language requirements
There have been changes to the NMC’s English language requirements which were approved by their Council last September. They ensure that the high standards of language skills needed by professionals will remain while keeping the process as fair as possible. Our blog Recent Changes to the NMC Registration Board with the ILETS/OET Exams goes into further detail surrounding these changes.
The NMC has recently announced that depending on the circumstance, employers will now be able to provide supporting information as additional evidence of English language proficiency. This will relate to Trained in English as mentioned above.
If you completed your pre-registration nurse, midwife or nursing associate programme in a country where English is not a majority-spoken language, you will need to provide evidence that you were taught in English and that you can interact clinically in it.
The NMC will now allow you to provide separate evidence for the teaching and interaction elements. The following is required:
1. A training transcript or official letter from your training institute showing that your course was taught and examined in English.
2. Supporting information from your employer as evidence that you can interact clinically in English.
3. If you cannot provide both of these elements you will need to provide an alternative type of evidence such as a language test.
As stated in point 2 above, in specific circumstances, the NMC will allow you to supply supporting information from your current employer.
What are the requirements?
Applicants must have spent at least half of their time interacting with patients, service users, their families and other healthcare professionals.
Applicants must have been working in a health or social care setting in the UK for at least 12 months at the point you submit your application.
Applicants will be asked to nominate their line manager to confirm they have suitable knowledge of English when applying.
The line manager (or line managers) must be an NMC registrant.
A senior NMC registrant will need to counter-sign the information.
The above information and more can be found on theNMC website.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council’s requirements will allow nurses and midwives more options in order to demonstrate English language skills. To ensure the necessary standards for our workplaces are in place, knowledge of English language requirements is essential for all healthcare professionals. Servisource advises you to stay updated by visiting the NMC’s website in relation to these amendments.
At Servisource, we place International Healthcare Professionals in permanent positions across the UK in the private sector and NHS, while offering career progression within a supportive work environment.
Are you a Healthcare Professional interested in a UK Permanent Placement?
International Recruitment and Retention Challenges Facing Care Homes and The NHS
There are many challenges faced by care homes and the NHS surrounding international recruitment and retention. Recruiting and retaining adequate international staff has become increasingly difficult over recent years. This is due to many different factors including but not limited to the global pandemic, Brexit, wages, and the cost of living as well as language proficiency concerns.
It’s essential for care homes and hospitals to have a clear understanding of the challenges they might encounter. Here are some possible barriers healthcare facilities and the NHS come up against when recruiting and retaining staff and why these challenges exist.
• Pay remains one of the reasons healthcare staff are leaving their profession or retiring early.
• Nursing pay has fallen significantly in the last decade – by 15% in real terms.
The Global Pandemic
The global pandemic has had a significant impact on international recruitment and retention in various industries across the world but especially the healthcare industry. Restrictions on international travel and immigration have caused issues relating to recruitment and retention that relies on a global talent pool.
Many nurses and healthcare workers have been forced to return to their home countries due to travel restrictions or personal circumstances caused by the pandemic. This has created difficulties for healthcare organisations to maintain a diverse and inclusive workforce, which is critical for their success.
According to statistics by the NHS, there was an increase of 18.2 percent in sick days among nurses and healthcare visitors in May 2021 compared to May 2019. This demonstrates the toll the pandemic has had on the health of healthcare professionals.
At Servisource, we look after our skilled professionals by creating a supportive working environment for them. Our dedicated recruiters support our candidates through the entire process from application right through to the candidate arriving in Ireland. We offer a unique meet and greet service as well as a welcome pack to candidates at the airport.
Our skilled professionals understand your requirements, react and adapt quickly and deliver excellent results. We allow you to focus on what matters, maintaining staffing levels and delivering safe, patient centred care.
The NHS’sImproving Staff Retention guideaims to support line managers and employers to consider the key areas which affect workforce retention.
It is aimed at anyone who has a responsibility for improving staff experience and morale, vital for attracting and retaining talent.
Brexit
A recent piece in The Guardian newspaper highlighted; ‘Staff from EU and European free trade area countries, which include Norway and Switzerland, had risen by more than 20% before Brexit but has since fallen to just 5%’. Brexit has caused many challenges for care homes and the NHS when it comes to recruiting and retaining international staff. With a restriction on international healthcare staff caused by visa issues among others, there is now a shortfall in experienced caregivers, nurses, and support staff.
Almost 5,000 nurses and midwives from 27 EU countries have quit the NHS in the past two years, with many of those identifying Brexit as the trigger.
With an uncertain financial outlook caused by Brexit, it has caused difficulties in retaining staff across health care institutions as healthcare staff consider working elsewhere in a more economically stable country. This leads to an unstable supply of much-needed staff across the country.
Wages and The Cost of Living
The current wages and cost of living within the UK have made it incredibly difficult for both care homes and the NHS to recruit and retain international staff. Other countries in Europe offer higher salaries for healthcare professionals resulting in many overseas staff leaving for better paying opportunities abroad. This creates many challenges in relation to the hiring of new staff.
At Servisource, we offer many benefits for international healthcare staff and ensure they are looked after in the best way possible. These benefits include but are not limited to:
Recruitment Consultant Support: Our dedicated recruiters support our candidates through the entire process from application right through to the candidate arriving in the UK.
Interview Support: Our recruiters conduct a number of preparation interviews in advance of main client interviews which ensures higher success rates.
Post-Placement Aftercare: Our local presence also allows us to provide post-placement aftercare on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis or as required.
Compliance Support: Our recruiters assist with reference checks and visas.
Language Proficiency Concerns
Achieving language proficiency in English in order to work in healthcare and the NHS is vital. Communication skills are essential for a successful and well-functioning healthcare system. Language proficiency strengthens employment success potentials for healthcare staff and ensures patients are adequately looked after.
There are two language tests that are accepted as evidence of the ability to communicate effectively in English: the International English Language Test System (IELTS) Academic and the Occupational English Test (OET). Healthcare professionals must achieve the required score in each of the four areas of reading, writing, listening, and speaking with test scores valid for two years. However, these tests mean that healthcare staff who may have perfect English skills but narrowly miss out on a high score, cannot work as a healthcare professional.
The The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) requires applicants who trained outside the UK to demonstrate that they are capable of practising safely and effectively, taking into account their qualification, training and experience.
Applicants must demonstrate they have the necessary knowledge of English to communicate effectively. Information about this can be found here.
However, changes have been made recently in order to tackle the hiring difficulties and low staff rates within the NHS. The NMC has recently made changes to the NMC registration board in the UK in relation to its English language requirements with the ILETS/OET exams. The reason for this was to create a fairer chance for healthcare professionals completing them.
This in turn will allow more healthcare staff to be recruited without being inhibited by exam results even though their English level is up to par. Our previous blog on the Recent Changes to the NMC Registration Board with the ILETS/OET Exams will provide further insight and information surrounding these changes.
Overall, there are many current challenges facing the healthcare system and the NHS in relation to staffing. There needs to be a focus on recruitment and healthcare strategies in order to counteract these difficulties and retain adequate staff. Some of these challenges have been out of the healthcare system’s control, such as the global pandemic and Brexit, however, it is important that steps are taken towards creating a more appealing environment for healthcare staff in both a care home and NHS setting.
It is important that employees feel appreciated, respected and have room for professional growth. By taking steps to nurture these sorts of initiatives, the NHS and care providers have a real chance of recruiting and retaining a committed workforce whose knowledge will benefit those in need for years to come.
Looking for an international healthcare recruiter?
Servisource is delighted to announce that we have achieved the RQIA award in Northern Ireland. This enables Servisource to proceed with the recruitment of nurses alongside our NISCC registered social care staff. It is an incredible achievement that allows Servisource to expand our healthcare offerings and provide reassurance to all current and future clients that we meet thestandardsrequired by the RQIA in Northern Ireland.
As always, Servisource’s focus is on providing high-quality temporary healthcare staff who have the right people with the right skills and knowledge in the right place, and the RQIA achievement reaffirms this.
Servisource Healthcare UK is a recognised Recruitment Agency, providing Temp, Perm, and International healthcare recruitment to Public and Private sectors. Servisource Healthcare UK Recruitment operates in accordance with the NHS Code of Practice and is a member of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation for Northern Ireland.
Contact Caroline Murphy to Discuss Your Temp Staffing Needs
Our dedicated team is here to support your needs offering fast and effective turnaround times while ensuring the right people are sourced. This guarantees continuity of patient care giving you the peace of mind knowing your staffing needs will be met, regardless of demand.
• The expertise and resources to scale up to meet your demand. •Putting our clients at the centre of everything we do
• Our Training academy offers bespoke solutions, providing a supply of qualified, skilled and confident people.
•Technology, Innovation and Continuous Improvement are at the core of how we operate
• Employing people living locally to serve our local communities and businesses.
•Operating regionally, nationally, and globally, providing access to people in the right place.
What Does This Mean for Servisource?
This achievement means that Servisource can now recruit nurses and healthcare staff and with our experience, knowledge, and ability, meet the needs of our clients in Northern Ireland. Servisource focuses on providing high-quality care consistently across all clients or clinical placements.
The RQIA award further adds to our reputation as a leading healthcare provider with over 20 years’ of experience in the UK and Ireland, across a range of sector specialties. Servisource is committed to providing person-centered care whilst preserving the client’s right to dignity, integrity, privacy, and choice.
Speaking on the RQIA achievement, Angie Bowes, Clinical Nurse Manager at Servisource, says;
“Through all the hard work in accomplishing the RQIA award and with my clinical background and knowledge, it solidifies us as a key provider for clients as well as candidates. We achieved the RQIA through sheer dedication and I’d like to thank all the team involved for assisting us with an exceptional winning submission.
We are now recognised by the health board in Northern Ireland, allowing for the expansion of our services and the provision of even more care and support. This is an exciting time and we are proud of everyone for their contribution and dedication”.
We offer best-in-class compliance and are accredited with the Health and Personal Social Services Quality Standards for Health and Social Care (HPSS). We are committed to reviewing and reflecting upon our own levels of service while also improving these services when required.
We remain open to an annual review of our registration by the RQIA and will complete monthly internal reviews of practice to ensure we are always delivering high standards of care in line with the Nursing Agencies Minimum Standards 2008 (RQIA) and The Nursing Agencies Regulations (NI) 2005. Servisource complies with all regulatory health & safety, quality & environmental standards. This gives you peace of mind knowing that our staff are fully compliant.
Our Health and Safety Standards
The importance of Health & Safety cannot be underestimated. All our employees are carefully vetted and are required to have their mandatory training in line with the minimum standards set out by the RQIA including:
Safeguarding adults, children and young people (level 2 required)
Health and Safety
Fire Safety
Manual Handling
Medicines Management
All staff will be required to attend training updates annually aside from Safeguarding which must be completed once every three years as required by RQIA.
What is RQIA?
The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority(RQIA)is the independent body responsible for monitoring and inspecting the availability and quality of health and social care services in Northern Ireland and encouraging improvements in the quality of those services.
They inspect a wide range of health and social care services which are based on minimum care standards to ensure that both the public and the service providers know what quality of services is expected.
RQIAalso has a role in assuring the quality of services provided by the Health and Social Care (HSC) Board, HSC trusts agencies, to ensure that every aspect of care reaches the standards laid down by the Department of Health and that is expected by the public.
Can RQIA Information Be Accessed?
RQIA holds comprehensive up-to-date information on all registered health and social care services in Northern Ireland including nursing homes, residential care homes, and domiciliary care agencies. Their inspection reports are publicly available to help guide your decision when selecting an appropriate care home for your needs.
If you would like to read more about The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA), you can find all the information on their website.
About Servisource
Founded in 2000 in Ireland and recently expanded into NI and UK, Servisource is a national and international leader in the provision of healthcare services. We supply fully qualified and compliant temporary healthcare staff including nurses, mental health nurses, healthcare assistants, and support workers , and offer a fully accredited healthcare service.
Our missionistodeliver the highest standard of care meeting each client’s individual needs using a holistic approach in accordance with the national standards of care. Operating regionally, nationally, and globally, providing access to the right people with the right skills and knowledge in the right place. We can supply staff at short notice regardless of where the requirements are based.
Contact Caroline Murphy to Discuss Your Temp Staffing Needs
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