UK must be able to recruit nurses from EU

As staffing issues persist and Brexit on the horizon, the Royal College of Nursing has stressed that UK employers still need to be able to recruit from the European Union.

Responding to the Migration Advisory Committee’s interim report on European Economic Area (EEA) workers in the UK labour market, the nursing body said that the NHS needed to attract nurses now in order to prevent future catastrophe.

Although the report was to specific on nursing recruitment or retention, the RCN, along with most other health bodies, reported that employers in health care and private sector services would prefer to retain free movement of labour than see migration restrictions introduced.

The college has also warned that investment in attracting and training the domestic workforce is vital to safeguard the future of nursing, to provide safe and effective patient care.

Janet Davies, RCN chief executive, said: “Career development is an important part of this, but nursing continuing professional development budgets have been cut substantially. Other professions, including medicine and dentistry, have seen their budgets protected, and nursing is falling behind.”