Nurses are increasingly crossing the globe to pursue a career in the UK. Today nearly four out of every 10 nurses who work for HCA Healthcare – the world’s largest private healthcare provider – completed their training overseas. And of that number 14% came from outside the European Union (EU) – an indication not only of just how far nurses are prepared to travel but also how nurse recruitment has now become a global affair.
Nurse Eric Yubin, who qualified in the Philippines, joined HCA UK in 2015 as a staff nurse moving quickly through the ranks; today he is ward manager of the rehabilitation and the prolonged disorders of consciousness units at the Wellington Hospital in London. He says: “I chose to move to HCA UK from the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability in Putney where I had been since coming to the UK in 2011. I knew HCA UK would be able to support me in my chosen career path and I’d be able to achieve career progression.”
The global mobility of the nursing workforce is also borne out by latest national official workforce figures which show that last year some 22,227 nurses and health visitors who qualified in the EU were working in the NHS. Around the same number again – 25,388 – were recruited from outside Europe with the largest share coming from the Philippines and India.
Lizette Oosthuizen provides international recruitment consultancy services for HCA Healthcare UK, which runs six hospitals in London as well as other specialist sites inside and outside the capital. She admits that all providers – whether in the public or private sectors – are seeking to attract nurses from overseas in a recruitment market which has become more competitive as the UK grapples to solve its existing nurse workforce problems.
She says: “We have Germany, for example, recruiting from Romania and other EU countries and America recruits from the Philippines. The issue is that our services are growing and London only has so many nurses. We are a specialist hospital group so the nurses we recruit – who would usually be at least two years post-qualifying – need a specialist set of clinical skills to work for us.
Most of HCA UK’s overseas nurses come from Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Philippines and India, according to Oosthuizen who adds: “We’ve had particular success in India because the nurse training and education is similar to that in the UK, and they have some very good oncology services.”
So, in an increasingly tough market, what gives HCA UK the edge over its national and international competitors?
The organisation – which is currently recruiting for specialist nurses in oncology, paediatrics, intensive care, anaesthesia and neurology – runs state-of-the-art facilities. Some £500 million has been invested in the last 10 years so that HCA UK nurses and patients have access to cutting-edge medical technology. But it also prides itself on the practical and emotional support it offers those nurses who may be leaving their home country for the first time and travelling across the world to continue their career. “We offer them a structured induction to make sure that these nurses are not just clinically capable to do the job but we also want to grow them and give them the best experience once they are here and to start their career in the UK,” says Oosthuizen. “This isn’t just about getting the nurses in and getting them to work – it’s all part of our investment to make sure that their relocation is successful for them.”
Overseas nurses are met from the airport on arrival and their accommodation is provided. “We will also link them up with a nurse from the same country of origin so they can speak to somebody who has gone through the same experience,” says Oosthuizen. “There is also a mobile they can call at any time – we really try and support them as much as possible.”
International nurses can also expect a competitive relocation package. Every nurse receives funding to cover the costs of sitting the compulsory tests set by the regulator the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) which they have to pass in order to join the professional register and practice in the UK. “We have a training team to make sure that they will be NMC-ready,” Oosthuizen says.
Figures suggest that once these nurses experience what HCA UK has to offer they stay long-term; typically nurses from the EU remain for 3.2 years while non-EU stay for around 4.5 years. Oosthuizen adds: “Our priority is to attract nurses who have a passion for what they do and want to deliver high quality patient-centred care. We want them to see that, with the right education and training, where they can go with their career in HCA UK. We’ve had nurses who have gone on to become managers of intensive care units or nursing stations for example. We are looking to invest in them because we want them to stay in our business.” Yubin, who has now been with HCA UK for two years, is testament to its investment in professional development. He says: “HCA UK has the capacity to support employees and train them to the best of their abilities. It has a reputation as a first class private healthcare group across the UK and this encouraged me to be part of the Wellington – I have been able to expand my learning and horizons of my career.”
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