British leader could look to NZ for nurses
A predicted global shortage of nurses by 2030 has sent some countries and their leaders scrambling to fill the gaps early.
Among them is British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose recent election manifesto included a pledge to deliver 50,000 new nurses. While Johnson’s figure came under fire for inaccuracy, included in the manifesto was a plan to recruit 12,500 nurses from overseas – possibly including New Zealand.
The New Zealand Nurses Organisation’s associate professional services manager, Hilary Graham-Smith, said it would ‘‘absolutely’’ be a problem if Britain recruited a large number of nurses here, but such a recruitment drive was not unexpected.
‘‘It is not an uncommon practice for countries to recruit [nurses] in other countries,’’ she said. ‘‘At this particular point in time, there is a global nursing shortage so it will be something that every country is thinking about and possibly doing.’’
The World Health Organisation estimated another 9 million nurses and midwives would be needed by 2030 across the globe.
Graham-Smith was aware Britain was already ‘‘aggressively’’ recruiting in New Zealand but it went both ways.
‘‘We already have a really high reliance on internationally qualified nurses in New Zealand – 27 per cent – which is the highest in the OECD.’’
Nursing was a qualification that travelled well and enabled nurses to seek better wages and conditions overseas.
Graham-Smith said a large number of New Zealand-trained nurses would go to work overseas but data gathered by the NZ Nurses Organisation (NZNO) showed they would usually return after one to three years.
Minister of Health David Clark called the international labour market for nurses ‘‘volatile’’ and said the Ministry of Health had been aware of the potential impact of Brexit for some time and was factoring it into its planning. A safe staffing accord was signed last year
between district health boards, NZNO and the ministry to address concerns about current staffing levels.
‘‘Along with the accord, the ministry is developing a strategy to help retain existing nurses and midwives in the public health service and attract others back into the workforce,’’ Clark said.
Budget 2019 funnelled more cash into the health sector, with $24.5 million going towards funding 482 additional registered nurses in nurse entry to practice programmes over four years, and $20m earmarked to boost the primary mental health nursing workforce.
The ministry’s chief nursing officer, Margareth Broodkoorn, said it was constantly looking at ways to retain existing nurses and attract internationally qualified nurses to the country.
‘‘Kiwi Health Jobs has run a recent recruitment campaign aimed initially at attracting internationally qualified nurses from Britain and Ireland. We understand there has been a good amount of interest in the sector as a result of this campaign.’’
She was confident the existing accord and ongoing work to increase the nursing workforce would make New Zealand more attractive for nurses.
‘‘There is a global nursing shortage so it will be something that every country is thinking about and possibly doing.’’
Hilary Graham-Smith NZ Nurses Organisation