Staffing in the healthcare sector has frequently been described as a ‘make or break’ issue, and quite understandably so. Sadly, a shortage of nurses has been a severe challenge in the UK for a few years now, medical centres nationwide continually struggle to employ the necessary volume of nurses. Nursing is the largest profession within the healthcare sector, to put it into perspective, there is over double the number of nurses to GPs. Such is the size of the profession that there are 40,000 unfilled nursing jobs across the country, as according to a BBC article this May 2019 – this is a huge concern for the NHS. This number represents all types of nurses; as an example, only three out of five schools are currently able to employ a full-time nurse. In the light of this issue, the NHS will soon begin a major campaign to recruit health workers from other countries to meet growing staff shortages.
While the number of nurses employed in the UK has increased since 2013, this has not improved the situation given the rapid growth in the demand for healthcare. As such, hospitals are suffering; the Shropshire Star earlier this May reported the Telford Princess Royal Hospital, for example, to having recently forced a patient assessment unit to close for one weekend due to a lack of available nurses. The BBC have reported a projection of at least 5000 extra nurses are needed to be recruited from overseas every year until 2040 in order to close the gap – that being three times the figure that the UK currently recruits annually! Global recruitment allows for a wider pool of people and reports claim this strategy will include recruiting from poorer nations outside Europe. Of course, recruitment from overseas is not a new phenomenon in the UK: in 2018, a Parliament publication revealed 12% of the workforce reported their nationality as foreign nationals. However, the majority of these have come from the EU, and with the current economic climate and the uncertainty of Brexit, the volumes of EU nationals seeking to work in the UK is falling, a decline particularly prominent in the nursing sector.
We may not be able to single-handedly resolve the country’s major staffing dilemma. But, here at Safehands Recruitment, we do understand that this shortage of nurses can lead to many nurses forced to work under considerable pressure. Given this, we are continually offering nursing opportunities which support a healthy lifestyle. We are committed to ensuring that the candidates that we place receive ongoing development/training and valuable staff benefits:
- Flexible Shifts
- Great rates of pay
- ‘Recommend a friend’ incentive
- Hourly accrued holiday pay
- Free uniform
- Dedicated friendly, approachable local consultants with professional industry knowledge available 24/7
- Opportunity to widen your skills and experience within different settings
- Professional weekly rota management
We are, in addition, currently offering a special offer for nurses:
- £2000 in 4 bonus payments when you sign up with the Safehands agency
- £250 to anyone who recommends a nurse to us
