No such thing as ethical nurse recruitment policy

In the week that new figures show a three-fold increase in the number of nurses being employed from developing countries UNISON warned that there is not such a thing as an ethical nurse recruitment strategy.

Over the past four years the number of nurses being recruited from developing countries has in many cases tripled or quadrupled - and in the case of Zimbabwe there is a nine-fold increase.

Jim Devine, Scottish Organiser of Health said, "This quite frankly is abuse. These countries have healthcare problems of their own.

"If we are recruiting their nurses, we are recruiting from developing countries, which is not an ethical nurse recruitment policy.

"This dramatic increase in nurse recruitment from developing countries in the past four years, just highlights the major problems that we have here in Scotland in recruiting and retaining nurses.

"UNISON believes that we should revisit the ethical nurses recruitment policy and will be raising the matter directly with the Minister"

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