Ghana, Nigeria, Angola and Cameroon and 54 other countries have been included in a list by the United Kingdom that should not be actively targeted for recruitment by health and social care employers.
The list was released as part of the UK’s revised code of practice for international recruitment of health and social care personnel in England, which was published on the NHS Employers website.
The code states that some developing countries, such as Ghana, should not be targeted when actively recruiting health or care professionals.
The countries placed on the red list of ‘No active recruitment’ under the code are Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia.
Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, the Federated States of Micronesia, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Samoa, Senegal, Sierra Leone, the Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, the United Republic of Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, the Republic of Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe are the other countries.
The UK Government said the list, titled “Code of Practice red and amber list of countries,” is based on the World Health Organization Workforce Support and Safeguard List, 2023, and will be updated alongside progress reports on WHO Global Code implementation and reported to the World Health Assembly every three years.
The countries listed have a UHC Service Coverage Index of less than 50 and a doctor, nurse, and midwife density that is lower than the global median. (48.6 per 10,000 population).
The code governs the appointment of all international health and social care personnel in the United Kingdom, including permanent, temporary, and locum workers in clinical and non-clinical settings.
The code stated that being on the list doesn’t prevent individual health and social care personnel from independently applying to health and social care employers for employment in the UK, of their own accord and without being targeted by a third party, such as a recruitment agency or employer (known as a direct application).
It defined active international recruitment in the code as the process by which UK health and social care employers (including local authorities), contracting bodies, recruitment organisations, agencies, collaborations, and sub-contractors target individuals to market UK employment opportunities, with the intention of recruiting to a role in the UK health or social care sector. It includes both physical or virtual targeting, and whether or not these actions lead to substantive employment.
This includes but is not limited to allied health professionals, care workers, dentists, doctors, healthcare scientists, medical staff, midwives, nursing staff, residential and domiciliary care workers, social workers, and support staff.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana