The enlarged Internal Market in Health Care

Concrete examples of free movement of nurses

Paul de Raeve, Secretary General PCN

The Standing Committee of Nurses of the EU (PCN) was

set up in 1971 and its creation was linked to the nursing

education, the free movement directives being drafted by the Commission

then.

• UK - 42000 internationally recruited nurses• Main challenges: language, differences in

clinical and technical skills, racism in the workplace and the reaction of patients

• Planned Recruitment: ensuring that recruited nurses have the chance to enhance their skills - a win-win situation for both countries

• 33 Bulgarian nurses from across the whole country• Planned recruitment: proper induction to work, clinical

issues, settling in the UK, assessing services where they are living.

• Monthly ‘recall’ days: language ability, cultural differences in handling/dealing with patients and getting used to working in a multi-disciplinary environment, with primary care, social services, etc.

• Norway: recruitment of Polish nurses which education is in line with the Sectoral Directive.

• language training (full time) prior to their departure for Norway

• A temporary license up to two years

• Programme stopped (Expensive?)

• Temporary employment of Polish nurses in the Netherlands due to nursing shortage

• Objective: assessing the actual qualification level of the Polish education system for nurses in comparison with the Dutch education system for nurses (BIG-register).

• The Polish government ensures that nurses on their return are given an equivalent job in the health care sector.

• Developing good practice in recruitment, ethical standards of recruitment and advice to employer, at European level, for all health professions.

• Recruitment and retention of an ageing nursing workforce in the European countries. • Political objectives regarding the

human resources in the health sector are needed.

• To development educational standards and accredited programmes at European level

• To set up a European Workforce Monitoring Forum and develop further the Health Portal because Systematic information and comparable data are needed.

• High Level Reflection group concentrating on the mobility of health professions including the largest occupational workforce

If migration is only temporary, qualifications acquired abroad may intensify international exchange of

experience and result in raising quality of care if migrants return to

their home countries.

The most experienced nurses are needed to develop their own

national and local health services and system.

Aggressive recruitment practices lead to under-resourced and

disrupted health services

The main focus of recruitment and retention activity of

governments should now be to the growing nursing capacity within each Member State.