Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Health to detail (i) any assessment that has been made of the impact of the proposed changes to the qualifying period for Indefinite Leave to Remain on international nursing staff; and (ii) any steps his Department is taking to ensure the health service can retain the nursing workforce.
Minister of Health: The international recruits who arrive to work here across our HSC system provide an immensely valuable contribution to the delivery of health and social care services, let alone to our communities. Given the increasing demands being placed on the health service, even with locally commissioned professional training programmes, there will always be a need for international recruitment at all levels within health and social care supported by the UK immigration system. Since 2016 there have been a total of 1,906 nurses recruited into HSC of which a total of 1,717 (90%) still remain and are working in post across Northern Ireland’s HSC Trusts today.
Social care and healthcare are integrated in Northern Ireland and a large proportion of social care is delivered by independent and voluntary sector organisations. Restricting international recruitment without a fully developed, long-term workplan would place unmanageable strain on already stretched services, exacerbating workforce shortages and comprising the safety, continuity and quality of care.
I fully appreciate that the proposed reforms carry substantial consequences for HSC Trusts, both for existing internationally educated colleagues, and for future attraction and workforce planning. I have raised these concerns, and a wide range of others, in response to the Government’s Immigration White Paper, to the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) and through The Executive Office. In addition, I have stressed our concerns in correspondence with the Home Office and directly in my meetings with Minister Seema Malhotra MP, Minister for Migration and Citizenship and Minister for Equalities. Immigration is a ‘reserved matter’ and whilst we will be able to raise our local issues through the MAC ultimately the UK Government will take decisions from a national perspective.
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