‘We are working towards building an inclusive culture for our international workforce’

The estimated shortage of 30 million nurses by 2030 represents the most significant global healthcare challenge.

The NHS, since its inception in 1948 has been reliant on an international workforce, starting with the Windrush generation of Caribbean nurses in the 1950s, followed by waves of major international recruitment.

From the mid-1960s and 1970s, Indian, Filipino and more Commonwealth nurses arrived in the UK, followed by EU nurses and my generation of nurses from 1999. The current drive for international recruitment arose from the government’s 50,000 Nurses Programme manifesto, where we have seen 19,000 international nurses recruited by 2021, projected to be over 50,000 by 2024.

As an internationally recruited nurse myself, I ask, what have we learnt from history? A roundtable held in 2021 explored the learnings of internationally recruited nurses during the Windrush Generation, which outlined their needs – to belong, to progress in their careers and to be recognised for their contributions.

My engagement with internationally recruited nursing leaders highlighted the need for pastoral care and accessible professional development opportunities for internationally educated nurses and midwives (IENMs) This has been neglected and as a result, IENMs lack representation at senior nursing levels and have poor retention.

During the pandemic, I was the first Filipino internationally educated nurse to be appointed as nurse advisor with the chief nursing officer's team and I have made it my cause to remind colleagues that IENMs will always have a unique journey with barriers to overcome within the system as compared to those who trained in the UK.