(CB):...Young and older doctors have been leaving the
NHS. This is a disaster. Many developed countries spend far more
on their health services than the UK. There are 40,000 unfilled
nursing vacancies in England and the shortage is one of the most
serious issues facing the NHS. Figures published this month
showed that the number of EU nurses was down by 90% since last
summer’s referendum. Many of our nurses are also leaving, looking
for greener grass elsewhere. I read that the NHS is looking to
bring in more nurses from India as hospitals struggle with the
exodus of staff from the EU.
The idea would be to bring nurses from India for a fixed period on an
earn-learn-return basis. Surely this would put patients at risk.
Safety should be paramount and I do not think that this could be
guaranteed, as nurses would be learning on our sick patients.
Trained nurses from the EU on the whole have an excellent work
ethos and their exodus is a great misfortune. There is great
variation of care across the country. The whole situation needs a
fast-track royal commission, but royal commissions seem to take
too long. This has to be tackled now—and a workable,
fit-for-purpose, safe NHS has to come out of it...
(Lab):...It is very concerning, therefore, that
following several reforms made to the immigration system, the
UK’s higher education sector as a whole has experienced two
consecutive years of falling overseas entrants: 2011-12 and
2012-13. This is not regarded as a dramatic drop in enrolments,
but this recent trend challenges the levels of growth witnessed
pre-2010. While demand has continued to increase from countries
such as China, the number of Indian students commencing courses in
the UK has almost halved in two years. The higher education
sector as a whole now sources around one-eighth of its income
from international students’ tuition fees. Fluctuating demand
from prospective students overseas can therefore leave
institutions vulnerable or affect their ability to plan
strategically in the long term. Therefore, I ask Her Majesty’s
Government to recognise that international students are of real
and great importance to the UK’s higher education sector and to
the country regionally. Although there have been suggestions that
a more positive picture is emerging, it is key that an
encouraging approach is maintained and narrated to the global
society which demonstrates the values and commitment made by the
UK to enhance and develop further the huge opportunities
available to young people all over the world...
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