HEALTH authorities in the UK and the islands have been asked to address the morality of recruiting nurses from overseas. Sandra James, the local nursing union official who raised the issue at the Royal College of Nursing’s annual conference, has admitted that she was surprised at the coverage her remarks received.

But she does not regret comparing the recruitment of nurses from the Philippines to ‘people trafficking’.

‘I was quite taken aback,’ she said of media coverage that included many UK national newspapers and those as far afield as Singapore.

‘But I don’t want the real message to get lost – are our actions damaging other countries and their health issues?’

She said that the ‘people trafficking’ reference had made reporters sit up and take notice.

‘If I could have thought on the spot of a less-emotive term, I would have used it,’ she said. ‘But now it’s in the public arena, I would like to see the decision-makers taking the issue seriously and asking themselves if there is an impact on other countries. Britain aggressively recruits in certain countries.’

Mrs James, the RCN council member for the south-east region, said her comments at the conference were made when she asked the International Advisory Panel when UK nursing recruiters would know they had gone too far in depleting the nursing workforce in other countries and whether the best staff were being taken when recruiting.

She praised the approach the local Health and Social Services Department takes when nurses arrive in the island from overseas – it provides a 12-week adaptation programme – and said that the recruits were a great asset to the profession.

‘People have to go through that [programme] to get on the register. Guernsey has worked hard at putting the programme forward and supporting nurses, whereas a lot of nurses are treated very badly in the UK. Guernsey does treat its overseas nurses very, very well,’ she said.

Overseas nurses now outweigh qualified British nurses on the British Nurses’ and Midwives’ Council – all nurses have to be registered with that body to practise in the UK and the Channel Islands.

‘There are very few spare nurses in the UK but that is due to the failure of previous UK Governments in not investing in nursing as a future workforce and not paying nurses very well,’ she said.

‘Guernsey looks to the UK for the bulk of its [nursing] workforce and is having to look elsewhere.’

Mrs James said that the RCN had long been expressing concerns about long-term recruitment of nurses in Guernsey.

The Health and Social Services Department has said it will review its policy before any future third-country recruitment.

‘The RCN would always welcome a review of recruitment strategies and is always happy to contribute to a review,’ said Mrs James.