§ 20. Mr. HammondTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations his Department has received from other Governments regarding recruitment on behalf of the NHS of staff in their countries. [149722]
§ Mr. WilsonThe recruitment of staff for the NHS is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and his Department. However, we have received a number of representations on the international recruitment of medical staff as part of our normal bilateral dialogues with other countries.
586WRecruiting medical staff from around the world to help improve the NHS presents an opportunity further to encourage international co-operation and exchange. But we also need to ensure that this recruitment does not undermine local health care systems in developing countries. The 1999 NHS Guidance on International Recruitment states that NHS employers should not actively recruit from developing countries that are experiencing shortages of their own.