FEATURE Fuel to the Fire


New migrant rules will fuel the current skills crisis in nursing and increase the demand for agency staff, warns Daniel Wise, co-founder and director of Day Webster.


In June, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) warned the NHS will lose millions of junior nurses under the government’s new migrant laws that will see anyone who does not earn £35,000 after six years in the UK being deported.


According to the RCN’s calculations, around 6,620 nurses, who have cost the NHS £39.7 million to recruit, will be deported by 2020.


Peter Carter, the RCN’s General Secretary said this would cause “chaos in the NHS and other care services” and claimed it was “illogical” given the staff shortages in nursing.


The impact of the government’s new migrant law, coupled with its plans to deliver a seven-day week NHS by 2020 will serve to deepen the growing skills crisis in nursing and put additional pressure on nurses – many of whom already feel overburdened.


The Growing Nursing Numbers report, published by Health Education England last July, highlighted that many nurses have low morale and that at least 10% of the nursing workforce is considering leaving.


The research highlighted that turnover is likely to be higher in inner city hospitals and in mental health, critical care, oncology and care for the elderly, with the newly qualified and those nearing retirement most likely to leave.


The report recommended that healthcare providers need robust nurse retention strategies to prevent further departures, including providing improved working environments, more flexibility in working patterns, more nursing leaders and better training and development.


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We would argue that some of the £8 billion NHS investment the government has pledged should be used to fund more nursing training places and to plan a recruitment campaign that will encourage greater numbers of new nurses.


Healthcare providers need robust nurse


retention strategies to prevent further departures,


including providing improved working environments.


There have been early signs this is happening with several NHS trusts announcing recruitment drives this year and the new nursing apprenticeships announced in 2014. While these are steps in the right direction, it will take time for the results to show and for the NHS to have more fully qualified nurses on hospital wards.


Lack of money, failure to invest in recruitment and low morale have also contributed to the rise in the number of agency workers hired by the NHS, a figure which is likely to continue rising with the new seven-day plans.


A House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts report said the NHS spent £2.6 billion in 2013/14 on agency staff, compared with £2.1 billion in 2012/13. Recent reports


suggested that the NHS in London is spending £32 million each month, or £384 million a year, on temporary nursing staff.


While this sounds like a high sum, it needs to be put in context. The NHS’ total budget for England alone in 2015 is around £100 billion. The figures also don’t give the full story.


Agency workers play a vital role in keeping the NHS staffed at safe levels. In NHS trusts across the UK they are working seamlessly alongside permanent teams, giving hospitals the flexibility to cope with fluctuating staff numbers and avoid potentially dangerous under-staffing.


Agency staff can be cost effective because they are only hired when needed and don’t carry the same longer-term costs as directly employed staff – such as pensions, sick pay and holiday pay. They help hospitals manage staff sickness, vacancies, annual leave and unexpected busy periods. Furthermore, most agency staff, especially nurses, have many more years of experience than the average for nursing staff.


Specialist recruitment agencies offer the NHS fully trained, vetted agency nurses that work to the highest standards of care as well as doctors with the skills and experience to ensure hospitals are always able to offer the best quality care to patients.


Just as businesses have become familiar with using temporary staff when needed, so the modern NHS will need to continue recruiting top class agency workers to bolster teams and provide a fully integrated and seamless service to patients.


www.daywebster.com www.tomorrowscare.co.uk


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