Why hospital patients are happier with British nurses
PATIENTS are less happy when they are looked after by foreigntrained nurses, research shows.
They say they do not always feel respected by those caring for them, lack confidence in their skills and are more likely to complain.
For every 10 per cent increase in the number of overseas nurses in a hospital, there is a 12 per cent drop in patients’ satisfaction levels, the first study of its kind found.
Researchers said the increasing dependence of the NHS on foreign nurses could put quality of care at risk.
Patients’ discontent may partly be due to nurses’ language difficulties, differences in medical training and a lack of cultural awareness, they said.
There are around 98,200 overseas nurses registered to work in the UK, or about one in seven of the workforce.
The NHS increasingly relies on these workers to fill understaffed wards because there are not enough British nurses graduating.
Some 8,183 overseas nurses were given a licence to work in UK hospitals and care homes last year, more than twice as many as five years ago.
Ministers cut the number of nurse training places from 20,000 to 17,000 between 2010 and 2013, just as demand from hospitals was increasing due to the ageing population.
Hospitals have since been forced to recruit nurses en masse overseas, particularly from India, the Philippines, Spain, Portugal and Romania.
The study, published in the journal BMJ Open, was based on satisfaction data from 12,506 patients at 31 NHS hospitals dating from 2010. Researchers compared these results with the numbers of foreign- educated nurses on wards.
They found that for every 10 per cent rise in overseas nurses in hospitals, patient confidence
‘Negative impact on quality of care’
fell by 13 per cent and overall satisfaction by 12 per cent.
Patients were more inclined to complain and less likely to say they were treated with dignity and respect. They also reported not always understanding nurses’ answers to questions or advice about medication.
At some trusts, more than half the nurses on wards were from abroad, but at others they represented 1 per cent of the total.
The experts concluded: ‘Importing nurses from abroad to substitute for domestically educated nurses may negatively impact quality of care.’
Study co-author Professor Peter Griffiths, chairman of health services research at the University of Southampton, said: ‘Our results show how important it is to invest in the domestic supply of nurses.’
He added that overseas nurses were often better trained and more qualified than those from the UK but might struggle with cultural differences.
Katherine Murphy, of the Patients Association, said: ‘Nurses from other countries make an extremely important contribution. However, we hear there are real issues, including problems with communication and a lack of understanding of processes and procedures.’
The Department of Health said: ‘Overseas nurses are a crucial part of the NHS team but they must be highly qualified, demonstrate care and compassion and have good communication skills.’