The UK has updated its guidelines for hiring foreign healthcare professionals.
Nigeria has been added back to the red list of nations in England’s recently amended code of practice for the foreign hiring of health and social care professionals, which means “no active recruitment is permitted.”
Other than Nigeria, the UK listed 53 other nations as not being actively sought out for employment by companies in the health and social care sector.
Before executing any recruitment drive, it is advised that employers, recruitment organizations, agencies, partnerships, and contractual bodies check the red country list for updates.
The code defined active international recruitment as the method by which UK health and social care employers (including local authorities), contracting bodies, recruitment organizations, agencies, collaborations, and subcontractors target people to market UK employment opportunities with the intention of hiring them for a position in the UK health or social care sector. Targeting can take place physically or virtually, and it can result in real employment or not.
The code of practice is applicable to the hiring of all foreign nationals working in the UK’s health and social care sectors, including all permanent, temporary, and locum employees working in both clinical and non-clinical settings.
This includes, but is not limited to, allied health professionals, care providers, dental professionals, medical professionals, medical staff, midwives, nursing professionals, residential and domiciliary care providers, social workers, and support personnel.
Remember that the UK suspended the hiring of healthcare professionals from Nigeria and 46 other nations in 2021, citing the threat posed by the rising volume of health and social care worker migration from low- and lower-middle-income countries.
On March 8, 2023, the World Health Organization identified Nigeria and 54 other nations as having the most urgent workforce issues connected to universal health care.
Other countries placed on the UK’s red list of ‘No active recruitment’ are: 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.
