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Government Complacent On 'Scandalous' Poaching Of Overseas Nurses
December 10, 2002 1:01 AM
Responding to the Minister Bill Rammell MP answer at FO questions, how he justified a policy of recruiting foreign nurses to such an extent that it was damaging the health care systems in developing countries, Dr Evan Harris MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Spokesman said:-
"The government is either totally complacent or simply doesn't care about the impact of its policies on the poorest people in the poorest nations of the world. It is unacceptable for Britain and the NHS to be poaching these badly needed staff. The Minister has to accept that its policy of trying to restrain this and do something about it is critically failing.
Commenting on the adequacy of the code of practice that Paul Burstow MP has discovered through Parliamentary Answers has only 30 out of 92 agencies have signed up and three of those have been found to have breached it said:
"It is incredible that almost a year after the initial hype of the Code of Practice, the Department of Health has identified so few agencies. It is scandalous that only a third of those agencies approached have signed up to the code of conduct and 1 in 10 of those have breeched it. This is yet another example of this Government over-claiming and under-performing.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
25 Nov 2002 : Column 136W
Foreign Nurse Recruitment
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many agencies have been brought to the attention of his Department by work force development confederations for failure to adhere to the ethical foreign nurse recruitment policy. [82963]
Mr. Hutton: Work force development confederations have reported three cases since the code of practice was established.
16 Oct 2002 : Column 869W
Ethical Foreign Nurse Recruitment
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the number and percentage of (a) recruitment agencies and (b) overseas nurses that are part of the ethical nurse recruitment code of practice. [74321]
Mr. Hutton: The Department has written to 92 agencies informing them that it is compiling a list of recruitment agencies. So far 30 recruitment agencies have been placed on this list who are complying with the code of practice.
All nurses from abroad should be recruited into the National Health Service in accordance with the code of practice.
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