A 'touchy' subject

[John Pruden]

news this morning nurses from countries outside the EU that are not earning £35.000 a year will be deported ?? this has really pi..ed me of how can they earn that much when the pay has been cut some not had a pay rise for 3 years the same Indian and Malaysian man the critical care units in most hospitals? they are not dossers or pick pockets from Europe these are very hard working young people who the nhs would not work without? after my last op I had a bad time and put in critical care and would not be here today without their care I was put in a coma for a few days and one stood by my bedside all the time 24/7 and they told me they have to pay their own parking even tea bags this is a scandal and the government should hang their heads for bringing this rule out this should change today??? jp

[Red Lead Ted]

Just my bloody luck, I had polyps removed last week, No dolly bird with me I got bloody Wayne !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If this guy wasn't Benghazi then I am, I started getting a bit worried when he put the endoscope up my after end, Relax he said!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What worried me was the mirror he put in front of my face and him bobbing up and down watching my every twitch. Takes all kinds to make a world

[John Pruden]

terry you know what happened to me you have seen the scars and it was them that pulled me out of the sh't they always had a big smile on their pretty faces and their dedication for the job was second to none they never left my bedside 24/7 even at visiting time they could not I had more tubes than a bloody car going into me and I will never forget them as long as I live.. jp

[Captain Kong]

FROM THE TIMES OF INDIA.


LONDON: Nurses from India and other non-European countries employed with Britain's state-funded National Health Service (NHS) could be forced to leave the UK under new immigration rules.

The UK's Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned that a new salary threshold of 35,000 pounds a year could hit over 30,000 nursing staff from non-European nations.

India is the second-largest supplier of nursing staff to the country after the Philippines, with over 15,000 fulfilling nursing shortages within the NHS.

"The immigration rules will cause chaos for the NHS and other care services. At a time when demand is increasing, the UK is perversely making it harder to employ staff from overseas," said RCN general secretary Peter Carter.

The Conservative party led government is planning to introduce new stricter requirements for non-European migrants, including a minimum pay bar for workers which means they would have to leave the UK after six years if they are not earning at least 35,000 pounds per annum.

The cut-off date for the new rules has been set at 2011, meaning the first batch of nurses earning less will be sent home in 2017.

"The UK will be sending away nurses who have contributed to the health service for six years. Losing their skills and knowledge and then having to start the cycle again and recruit to replace them is completely illogical," Dr Carter said.

An NHS staff nurse who trained in Belgaum, Sandeep Duggani, warned that NHS Trusts are continuing their hiring drive in India despite this impending job insecurity.

"I don't think they realise they will have to leave their jobs after six years. It's very sad. I have done all these training courses and now, after six years, I have to go back," 29-year-old Duggani said.

The UK Home Office claims the new rules would help reduce demand for migrant labour.

The move is part of the government's effort to control net migration into Britain but RCN warns that by 2017 more than 3,300 NHS nurses could be affected.

Nurses in the UK on average earn salaries of between 21,000 and 28,000 pounds a year. Due to cuts to nurse-training places, trusts are being forced into relying on overseas recruitment as well as temporary staff.

According to the RCN, the only long-term solution is to train more nurses in the UK, but in the interim, foreign nurses will be required to fill the gap.

Employers had had four years to prepare for the changes, a Home Office spokesperson said, adding "There are exemptions to this threshold where the UK has a shortage".

At the moment nurses are not on that exemption list, but the Home Office has said it was possible they could still be added if evidence showed this was needed.

Under previous immigration rules, there was no income threshold or time limit. The RCN estimates 90 per cent of nurses hired by the NHS from outside Europe will not have hit 35,000 pounds within six years.


.




Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

[John Pruden]

and just how could they when they haven't had a decent pay rise for nearly 4 years now its an insult to the good work they do yet we can take in all kinds of dross from Europe and not say a word it might be all the brains of the country go to Harley street for their ills I will be mailing my MP about this matter how could any of us not do.. jp