Changes to regulations for overseas recruitment to boost NHS staff.
Government ministers will introduce legislation to make it easier for overseas dentists and nurses to work in the UK.
The former health minister, Steve Barclay, indicated that the government plans to make it easier for health professionals from overseas to travel to the UK to work for the NHS. The changes will facilitate faster recruitment for nurses, doctors and dentists.
It would provide pathways for dentists and nurses from countries such as Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, Kenya and the Philippines.
Patricia Marquis, director for England of the Royal College of Nursing, last month expressed concern over reliance on international staff.
Speaking to The Nursing Times, she said that overseas recruitment ‘isn’t the only solution’
She said: ‘Our health system is already over-reliant on international nursing staff and we must ensure recruitment is ethical and not being done in countries that are facing workforce shortages more severe than our own.’