HC Deb 07 September 2004 vol 424 cc1144-5W
Rev. Martin Smyth

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of the nursing staff at each Northern Ireland hospital are not of UK origin. [186184]

Angela Smith

Nurses not of UK origin are employed within the HPSS but cannot be identified separately either from HRMS or by the Trusts themselves. Information is only held by Trusts on the number of EC and non-EC nurses employed. Figures for the percentage of non-EC nursing staff working within each Health and Social Services Trust are as follows.

Percentage of non-EC nurses working within each Health and

Social Services Trust as at 30 June 2004

HSS1 Trust Percentage of

non-EC nurses

working within

each HSS Trust

Altnagelvin Group HSS Trust 3.0
Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust 0.0
Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust 4.0
Causeway HSS Trust 1.4
Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust 4.5
Craigavon and Banbridge Community HSS Trust 0.5
Down Lisburn HSS Trust 5.0
Foyle Community HSS Trust 0.3
Green Park Healthcare HSS Trust 8.0
Homefirst Community HSS Trust 9.3
Mater Infirmorum Hospital HSS Trust 7.5
Newry and Mourne HSS Trust 0.4
North and West Belfast HSS Trust 0.2
Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust 10.3
South and East Belfast HSS Trust 0.0
Sperrin Lakeland HSS Trust 1.5
Ulster Community and Hospitals Group HSS Trust 3.6
United Hospitals Group HSS Trust 3.8
Total 3.8
1Health and Social Services

Rev. Martin Smyth

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the potential impact recruiting nursing staff from overseas to work in Northern Ireland's hospitals will have on health services in less developed countries. [186185]

Angela Smith

The Department is currently drafting guidance on International Nursing Recruitment that will advise HPSS employers not to actively recruit from developing countries that are experiencing nursing shortages of their own.

The majority of overseas nurses currently employed within the HPSS are from the Philippines, where nursing surpluses exist and the national Government actively supports recruitment by health service employers.

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