UK Bars Recruitment of Health Workers From Nigeria And 53 Other Countries
- The United Kingdom has placed Nigerian doctors and other healthcare workers on a red list
- The country barred the recruitment of doctors from Nigeria and 53 other countries across the world
- The development follows a bill by the House of Representatives from leaving Nigeria for five years after graduating from medical schools
The United Kingdom has placed Nigeria and 53 other countries on a red list where employment of healthcare and social workers is not permitted.
The development comes as a bill to prevent medical doctors and dental practitioners from leaving Nigeria passed the second reading at the House of Representatives.
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Nigerian falls on the red list
The revised code of practice statement for international health and social care worker recruitment shows that Nigeria falls within the red list.
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BusinessDay reports that the list is drawn from the World Health Organisation health workforce support and safeguard list.
The statement reads:
“Countries on the WHO Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List are graded red, which means no active recruitment is permitted from these countries.”
The statement also said that if a government-to-government agreement is put in place between the UK and a partner country, it will stop the UK employers and recruitment agencies from recruiting healthcare workers from the affected countries.
“The country will be added to the amber list, and recruitment can happen only on the terms of the agreement. The WHO Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List is updated by WHO every three years, or more frequently if required,” the statement said.
Other countries on the list include Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia.
Others are Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Federated States of Micronesia, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Samoa, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Republic of Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
UK defines international healthcare recruitment
According to the United Kingdom, active international recruits is the process by which UK health and social care employers, contracting agencies, organizations, and collaborations target persons to market UK employment opportunities intending to recruit to a role in the UK health or social care sector.
The process includes physical and virtual targeting and whether or not these actions lead to actual employment.
The General Medical Council said registered Nigerian doctors in the UK grew by 82% to 10,660 in 2022 from 5,8256 in 2018.
Nigerian healthcare workers in the UK complain of grueling work schedule
The number of nurses rose by 1,404.5% to 1,670 in April to September 2022 from 111 in the same period in 2018, the Nursing and Midwifery Council said.
Due to its flexible work schedule, the United Kingdom is reportedly a choice destination for Nigerian health workers.
But a recent report said Nigerian healthcare workers suffer from burnout and other work-related stress.
A BBC investigation revealed how doctors recruited from Nigeria work like slaves and are exploited by their employers.
The doctors say they are overworked and fear they might jeopardize their health and that of their patients.
The BBC investigation on Nigerian doctors in the UK was published on Tuesday, October 11, 2022.
Japa: Nigeria-trained medical workers ranked among the top foreigners working at UK hospitals
Legit.ng reported that on Monday, the British National Health Service (NHS) announced that Nigerian-trained nurses and midwives currently top the list of health workers in the United Kingdom with 4,722.
The data from the NHS stated that at the end of May, at least 1,000 medics, including doctors, had migrated from Nigeria and other African countries.
It noted that Nigeria accounts for more than 60% of the migrants to the UK.
Source: Legit.ng
