Foreign workers will be hired ‘on a mass scale’ to plug gaps in Britain’s care homes

Government ministers are drawing up plans to hire thousands of foreign workers to cover staff shortages in care homes this winter amid concerns over the state of the NHS and social care in the UK. 

Health Secretary Steve Barclay told civil servants earlier this month to ‘significantly increase’ overseas recruitment of health and social care staff while streamlining hiring and regulatory procedures to ship in replacements. 

Under Barclay’s plans, NHS managers may be sent as far as India and the Philippines to bolster the worldwide recruitment drive, which he said was essential to ensure social care services are maintained ahead of a winter ‘sprint’.

There are close to 1.6 million staff in social care but there are still roughly 160,000 vacancies that need to be filled – and a decrease in acceptances on nursing degrees this year is likely to make the staffing crisis worse.

Royal College of Nursing chief Pat Cullen said figures released by Ucas on Thursday showing 1,560 fewer students were admitted to courses than in 2021 were pointing ‘in the wrong direction’.

There are 21,130 accepted applicants onto nursing courses this year compared with 22,690 last year, the RCN said.

Ms Cullen said: ‘To address the staffing crisis and give the kind of care patients deserve, we need these figures to look even stronger. Sadly, they have headed in the wrong direction this year.

‘The impact of this drop in acceptances to nursing courses, along with the drop in applications this year, must not be underestimated. It will only add to the growing nursing workforce crisis.’

Meanwhile, the cross-party Health and Social Care Committee said health and social care services in England face ‘the greatest workforce crisis in their history’ and the Government has no credible strategy to make the situation better.

Projections suggest an extra 475,000 jobs will be needed in health and an extra 490,000 jobs in social care by the early part of the next decade.

Earlier on Thursday, Education Secretary James Cleverly defended the Government’s refusal to lift the cap on medical student admissions this year and said it was increasing NHS recruitment.

Asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme why the Government will not lift the cap, Cleverly backed the Health Secretary’s move to boost recruitment abroad.

He said: ‘The NHS has always relied significantly on medical professionals from overseas, and I doubt that that will change any time in my lifetime,’

‘We are recruiting more doctors and more nurses, we are training more homegrown medical talent. That is right.’

Meanwhile, NHS England has urged students who are still undecided on their next steps to ‘make the most of clearing opportunities’ and apply for a place on a nursing course.

Ruth May, NHS chief nursing officer, said: ‘Joining the NHS was the best decision I ever made so if you are a student thinking about your next steps, please consider applying to study nursing through Ucas clearing – it is one of the most employable degrees around and probably the most rewarding career in the world.’

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: ‘Congratulations to all those receiving their A-Level and T-Level results today, and especially to those who will be joining our fantastic NHS and social care workforce.

‘A career in the NHS or social care is hugely rewarding and with a variety of routes in to develop your career and skills, you will undoubtedly be making a difference to people’s lives every single day.’

But many NHS workers are resigning their posts as they struggle to contend with increased stress, expectation to work longer hours, and poor pay rises.

Midwife numbers are reaching a dangerous level which could put lives at risk, as records show more staff leaving than joining the profession for the first time in a decade.

As a record number suffer burnout and leave, the figures from NHS Digital for 2021/22 show almost 300 more staff abandoned midwifery than joined the service, with 3,440 leaving and only 3,144 coming in.

Analysis of the data showed a record 551 resigned in 2021 because of a lack of work-life balance.

The latest figures for May show pregnant women have the equivalent of 21,685 full-time midwives in England – down 551 on 12 months previously.

Midwives working in NHS trust maternity units typically work 12-hour shifts, but many work longer for no additional pay to cover staff shortages and to keep services running.

It comes as junior doctors are set to strike again unless the Government commits to a significant pay rise.

The British Medical Association (BMA) said last week it will ballot junior doctors for industrial action following an ‘unacceptable’ pay increase of 2 per cent.