• As on 31/03/2005 there are 672, 897 nurses on the NMC register.
• Number of new registrations in 2005: 12,417
• Number of nurses taken off the register due to death, illness, retirement etc in 2005: 20,840
• One in four nurses on the register is above 50 years old
• In 2005 over 55 years : 16.09 %
• Around 20,000 newly qualified indigenous nurses are added to the register every year.
• Between 98-99 and 2005 71,362 overseas nurses joined the NMC register. ( Of these only 10,002 are Indians.)
• From the 10 new EU countries only 231 nurses joined the NMC register in 2004-5.
• In 2005 8,044 NMC registered nurses went abroad, mostly to Australia, US and New Zealand.

NMC advice to Nurses on new Home Office directives:

Implications for overseas-trained nurses (bands 5 and 6 and equivalents) registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council and currently employed in the UK healthcare sector.

Work permits may be granted for a period of up to 5 years.  Most overseas nurses in permanent employment in the UK will have time-limited contracts of employment.  There are arrangements within the work permit rules to allow an employer to seek an extension of a work permit.  Overseas nurses should discuss this with their employer.

Implications for overseas-trained nurses (bands 5 and 6 and equivalents) seeking registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

Those who secured a decision for a supervised practice placement prior to the introduction of the ONP in September 2005 and who are due to complete by the 31 August 2006
 
Overseas nurses who were given a decision for supervised practice prior to the introduction of the ONP will only have two working weeks from today to complete their placement under the previous system.  From 1 September 2006 the only route to registration will be via the ONP.  Nurses in this situation who have not completed their placement by this date will have to discontinue the placement and apply for an ONP.  However they will face tough competition for places.

Those already in the UK currently undertaking supervised practice on an Overseas Nurses Programme (ONP) or who have a confirmed place on an ONP and are due to start after 14 August 2006

The approval of a supervised practice visa for international nurses to gain access to an Overseas Nurses Programme is completely separate from the work permit application process. Neither the supervised practice nor successful completion of an ONP or successful registration with the NMC should be regarded as guaranteed approval of a work permit.

Overseas-trained nurses who do not fall into the categories mentioned in the new shortage occupation list will face extremely tough competition for jobs across the UK healthcare sector. There may be more employment opportunities within the independent and social care sector but even here – employers will still need to prove that they cannot recruit from the pool of UK or EEA nurses.

Those who have just successfully completed an ONP programme and secured registration with the NMC
 
The supervised practice visa that governed their training on the ONP permits nurses to stay in the UK for four months from the final day of completion of their programme. Clearly nurses may want to test the local labour market for employment opportunities in this time.  However they will need to be aware that employers will be prioritising the UK resident labour market first – because the new rules do not consider non-EEA nurses as part of the resident labour force.

Those not already in the UK or who are thinking of applying for a place on an ONP course in the UK

Nurses from outside the European Economic Area, who do not fall into the categories mentioned in the new shortage occupation list and who are considering coming to the UK to undertake an ONP, will face extremely tough competition for jobs in the NHS and across the UK healthcare sector for the foreseeable future. 

The NMC strongly advises such nurses to consider their likely employment prospects before starting the process of applying for registration with the NMC. 

Work Permits (UK) will be monitoring the employment market and have given assurances that the shortage occupation list can be amended quickly if employment trends change.

From the above facts and figures and the NMC statement a few assumptions can be made.

1. UK does not have sufficient nurses to fill up all future vacancies. EU will never be able to supply enough nurses to fill up huge number of positions going to be open due to retirement in the coming years.
2. NMC is making it clear that those overseas nurses who are currently employed in UK should NOT take it for granted that they will get an extension of visa or work permit automatically. It all depends on the future demand and supply position.
3. Overseas nurse registration is a long process, usually it takes almost one year for an overseas nurse to get registration and start working. There are hundreds of overseas nurses who have resigned their jobs and spent lot of money to come here and are in the middle of the process. NMC’s advice to them is as bland and as it can be.
   

05 July 2006

This announcement gives customers advance notice of changes to the shortage occupation list for nurses.

With effect from 14 August 2006, all registered nurses will be removed from the shortage occupation list, and replaced with the following:

Nurses employed or engaged in the NHS at band 7 or 8 of Agenda for Change, or those employed or engaged in one or more of the following specialities:

• Audiology
• Sleep/Respiratory Physiology
• Neurophysiology
• Cardiac Physiology
• Operating Theatre Nursing
• Clinical Radiology
• Pathology
• Critical Care
  

Customers should therefore note that in order to qualify for treatment as a shortage occupation, their work permit application should clearly state which of the Agenda for Change bands or nursing specialities it falls into.

To note: the shortage occupation list still includes midwives.

As a result of these changes all work permit applications received by Work Permits (UK) on or after the14 August 2006 for nursing posts, other than those listed above, will need to be subject to a full resident labour test. Employers will be required to submit evidence that posts have been advertised, with full details of those who applied and were interviewed, and why resident nationals were not considered suitable. Only when the resident labour test has been satisfied will consideration be given to issuing a work permit.

These changes to the shortage occupation list have been the result of recent labour market research conducted by the NHS Workforce Review Team, and were announced by the Department of Health on 3 July 2006.