UK's "ethical recruitment policy" needs to be strengthened
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《英国医生杂志》
London
The Department of Health's code of conduct on overseas recruitment must be strengthened if Britain is to shrug off its international "bad guy" image, the author of a new report said last week.
Research by Professor James Buchan, Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh, for the Department for International Development, shows a substantial increase in international recruitment to the NHS in recent years, with half of new registrants on the General Medical Council now from countries outside the European Union.
The United Kingdom now has 10 000 more registered nurses than in 1998, and Professor Buchan's analysis shows that this increase is due almost entirely to overseas recruitment.
But in 2002-3 one in four new nurse registrants were from the "proscribed" list of countries—those listed in the Department of Health's Code of Conduct on International Recruitment as not to be targeted by the NHS for active recruitment.
Internationally, the United Kingdom is by far the most active country recruiting from developing nations, with India and the Philippines providing the greatest number of nurses and doctors.
Professor Buchan told a seminar organised by the Department of Health and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to discuss his findings: "It is evident that we are recruiting from developing countries to a larger extent than several comparators. Internationally, the UK is seen as the bad guy draining healthcare workers from developing countries."
The department's code of conduct was issued in 2001 to the NHS in England to govern overseas recruitment and stop unethical recruitment from developing countries.
Professor Buchan said the code had made a "positive impact"—but only in the NHS in England. It did not apply to the private sector or the rest of the NHS.
"Much of the high profile and dodgy practice has been in the private sector," he said. "That is the sector that is giving the UK a bad name internationally. The question is whether something should be done about it."
He called for a strengthening of the code and for stronger policy interventions to manage the flow of healthcare workers and minimise damage to donor countries' health systems.(Daloni Carlisle)
The Department of Health's code of conduct on overseas recruitment must be strengthened if Britain is to shrug off its international "bad guy" image, the author of a new report said last week.
Research by Professor James Buchan, Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh, for the Department for International Development, shows a substantial increase in international recruitment to the NHS in recent years, with half of new registrants on the General Medical Council now from countries outside the European Union.
The United Kingdom now has 10 000 more registered nurses than in 1998, and Professor Buchan's analysis shows that this increase is due almost entirely to overseas recruitment.
But in 2002-3 one in four new nurse registrants were from the "proscribed" list of countries—those listed in the Department of Health's Code of Conduct on International Recruitment as not to be targeted by the NHS for active recruitment.
Internationally, the United Kingdom is by far the most active country recruiting from developing nations, with India and the Philippines providing the greatest number of nurses and doctors.
Professor Buchan told a seminar organised by the Department of Health and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to discuss his findings: "It is evident that we are recruiting from developing countries to a larger extent than several comparators. Internationally, the UK is seen as the bad guy draining healthcare workers from developing countries."
The department's code of conduct was issued in 2001 to the NHS in England to govern overseas recruitment and stop unethical recruitment from developing countries.
Professor Buchan said the code had made a "positive impact"—but only in the NHS in England. It did not apply to the private sector or the rest of the NHS.
"Much of the high profile and dodgy practice has been in the private sector," he said. "That is the sector that is giving the UK a bad name internationally. The question is whether something should be done about it."
He called for a strengthening of the code and for stronger policy interventions to manage the flow of healthcare workers and minimise damage to donor countries' health systems.(Daloni Carlisle)