Almost half (48%) of the roughly 48,000 people who became nurses or midwives in the UK last year come from another country, a reliance on foreign labor that raises concerns.
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Among these nurses and midwives trained abroad, the vast majority (66%) come from India and the Philippines, according to annual figures from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), the regulator of the profession, published on Wednesday.
While these figures show an overall increase in the number of professionals registered to work in the UK - with some 758,300 people now registered - the number of departures is increasing.
And this as the healthcare system faces massive queues of patients whose care has been delayed since the start of the pandemic.
A total of 27,133 people left the NMC register in 2021/22, 13% more than the previous year.
'Worrying signs'
Andrea Sutcliffe, chief executive of the NMC, welcomed the overall increase in the number of nurses and midwives, “
good news given all the pressures of the past two years
”.
“
But a closer look at our data reveals worrying signs
,” she warned, citing rising numbers of departures and a workforce that has become “
more dependent on internationally trained professionals
.”
“
These professionals make a welcome and vital contribution to the health and well-being of our nation.
But we cannot take them for granted
,” she warned.
She recalled that two years ago the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on international travel caused a "
sharp drop
" in the number of nurses and midwives coming from abroad and that this could happen again.
Immigration was a central issue in the Brexit campaign in 2016, and new rules came into force last year to encourage the entry of highly skilled workers into the UK, albeit with relaxations for key sectors such as health.
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"
We are once again wondering if it is viable to recruit half of all new nurses worldwide
," said Pat Cullen, chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing.
"
The UK's health and care workforce can be proud of its diversity, but it must be done ethically and come with increased investment in training and the country's workers
."