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More than a fifth of new nurses want to emigrate

Garrett Martin, deputy director of the Royal College of Nursing, has warned of the impact of nursing shortages in Northern Ireland
Garrett Martin, deputy director of the Royal College of Nursing, has warned of the impact of nursing shortages in Northern Ireland Garrett Martin, deputy director of the Royal College of Nursing, has warned of the impact of nursing shortages in Northern Ireland

MORE than a fifth of new nursing graduates in Northern Ireland are considering emigrating due to the lack of permanent job opportunities.

The figures are contained within a draft Department of Health nursing workforce plan for the next 10 years - but a trade union has warned the figure is dated and stands at closer to a third.

Royal College of Nursing (RCN) chiefs have hit out at the blueprint document - which has been waiting on sign-off for 18 months - saying it is "not fit for purpose".

Garrett Martin, RCN deputy director, also raised serious concerns about escalating staff shortages across the north's five health trusts and private nursing home sector and the impact on patient safety.

With the north's hospital waiting lists currently ranked as among the worst in Europe, Mr Martin said they estimate there is a current shortage of around 1,500 nursing posts.

And while NHS trusts are currently offering work for 'bank' nursing staff, these are temporary posts with no long-term job or financial security.

It costs around £33,000 to train a nurse, with degree courses offered at Queen's university Belfast and the Ulster University.

However, training places have been severely hit by cuts, with 650 nurses studying this year compared with 730 in 2008/09.

In May, the Irish News revealed that lucrative resettlement packages known as 'golden hellos' are also being used to entice nursing graduates, with advertisements appearing for posts in England, Wales, Guernsey and the Republic.

"The RCN is incredibly worried about the current shortage of staff…The independent nursing home sector is in particular crisis, facing threat from under-funding and an inability to recruit and retain the required number of registered nurses," Mr Martin said.

"The Department's workforce plan indicates that some 21 per cent of newly-qualified nurses plan to leave Northern Ireland to work elsewhere. This will make our situation even worse and the impact of this upon patient care will be devastating. We need to understand the reasons why nurses plan to leave to be able to do something about it."

Last week health minister Simon Hamilton referred to a recent "informal" visit by his officials to new graduates, where they were "reassured" there were "sufficient jobs for all those successful at interview" - but in the independent sector.

The Irish News asked the Department if a risk assessment had been carried out on current nursing shortages and what action plan they had in place to ensure patient safety.

A Department spokeswoman did not address this question but in a statement instead said it was "fully aware" of the issues facing the sector.

She added: "Plans are in place to increase the number of Return to Nursing Practice places from February 2016. The number of pre-registration nursing places to be commissioned from local universities in 2016/17 is under review and a regional approach to the recruitment of nurses from overseas is also being considered.

"...Significant investment has been made this year to strengthen the nursing workforce in acute hospitals."