Even before the pandemic struck, there was a shortage of nurses in the UK. In January 2020, a survey by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) found that almost three-quarters of nurses said the staffing level on their last shift was not sufficient to meet the needs of patients safely and effectively. Yet this month NHS England predicted that the government will not meet its manifesto pledge to boost the NHS’s nursing workforce by 50,000 by March 2024. The key reason? NHS workers are quitting in droves, citing burnout, fatigue and pay as factors.
Filling these gaps are nurses from overseas. Recently released figures for 2021 and 2022 from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) show that record numbers of nurses trained overseas are coming to work in the UK – almost half of new registrations. We spoke to four of them about their experience working in the UK.
