Swansea Bay University Health Board (SBUHB), the local health board of National Health Service (NHS) Wales for Swansea and Neath Port Talbot, eyes Indian talent to fill its labour shortage. The local health board in Wales, United Kingdom, is reportedly planning to hire over 900 nurses from overseas within the next four years. A significant number of these nurses are expected to be recruited from Kerala, India.
As stated by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the SBUHB of the publicly financed NHS Wales would recruit approximately 350 overseas nurses during the current fiscal year of 2023-24, following chief executive Mark Hackett's prior consent.
A Band 5 contract with a starting salary of GBP 27,055 is purportedly offered to overseas nurses, however, they will initially only earn a Band 4 income until they finish their UK registration. In the current fiscal year of 2023–24, recruiting 350 overseas nurses is projected to cost roughly GBP 4.7 million, saving GBP 1.5 million in agency and nursing bank expenses.
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In association with Kerala's Skills Council and the Overseas Development and Employment Promotion Consultants (ODEPC), a state-run organisation headquartered in Thiruvananthapuram, a WYICS team met with ministers in Kerala to discuss workforce-related issues.
The health board also hires people from the Philippines, Africa, and the Caribbean in addition to India. Although the board reported receiving very few EU applications, nurses from the EU are included in the abroad group.
Gareth Howells, director of nursing and patient experience at Swansea Bay Health Board, asserted that recruiting professionals from abroad provides immediate access to highly skilled professionals.
The Welsh government and the health board, which administers the Welsh regions of Swansea and Neath Port Talbot, were reassured that efforts were being made to recruit, train and retain more local employees.
The health board employs approximately 4,200 nurses and midwives, and based on the statistics, 1,322 of them are over the age of 51 and could retire within the next few years.
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It happens at the same time that Health Education England (HEE), a division of the English NHS in charge of hiring and training, announced earlier this year that it was collaborating with the West Yorkshire Integrated Care System (WYICS) to build workforce partnerships in India for the northern England province.
As part of its mission to promote the expansion of NHS manpower, HEE continues to concentrate on establishing ties in India for physicians, nurses, and other healthcare workers.
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Source: The Economic Times