Critical shortage of nurses in UK can be filled by overseas recruitment says agency

Hays reported that the most affected areas for nursing jobs are in critical care (ITU), A&E, theatre, intensive care (ICU) and accident and emergency medicine nurses, with skill shortages also apparent for obstetrician and gynaecologist, orthopaedic, anaesthetic and recovery nurses.

Simon Hudson, Director of Hays Global Resourcing at Hays Healthcare said: "The available talent from abroad throws an important lifeline to the UK given the pressing need for skilled nurses. Around 10 per cent of nurses working in the UK have trained abroad and the shortage of skills can only be adequately filled by targeted international recruitment”.

The solution to the shortage will be a combination of more effective utilisation and retention of skilled nurses, increased emphasis on training new nurses and, in the short term, increased international recruitment for nurses to work in the country on UK visas or UK work permits.

"While most of our temporary and permanent recruitment is carried out locally, the demand for certain skills has outstripped supply. It is therefore our responsibility to help clients attract these key professionals from outside their local market," stressed Hudson.

 The UK Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in UK Visa and UK Work Permit applications.