UK hires 9,189 Nigerian doctors in addition
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Up to 7,256 nurses trained in Nigeria emigrated to the United Kingdom between March 2021 and March 2022 and took up jobs mostly with the National Health Service (NHS), some in the private sector, and they are still asking for more.
By December 2021, the number of Nigerian doctors working in the UK had reach 9,189 with 805 of them licensed by the British General Medical Council (BGMC) between July and December 25.
Theses are doctors and nurses trained in Nigeria, the figures do not include Nigerians trained in the UK and elsewhere who are living and working in the UK.
Data compiled by the UK Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) shows that Nigeria continues to witness an increase in the rate of health workers going abroad.
The data shows that 2,796 Nigerian nurses emigrated to the UK between March 2017 and March 2018 with another influx of 3,021 between March 2018 and March 2019.
The NMC recorded a slight increase between March 2019 and March 2020 when a total 3,684 Nigerian nurses emigrated to the UK.
In 2020, during the height of COVID pandemic, 4,310 Nigerian nurses registered with the NMC between March 2020 and March 2021.
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Nigerians joining NMC permanent register
The highest rate in the past five years was between March 2021 and March 2022 when a total 7,256 Nigerian trained nurses registered with the NMC.
“People who trained in the Philippines and India continue to represent a significant proportion of our permanent register and contribute strongly to our annual growth.
“Between 2021 and 2022, there was a significant increase in the number of people who trained in India, the Philippines and Nigeria joining the permanent register for the first time,” the NMC disclosed, according to reporting by The PUNCH.
Nigeria has the third highest number of foreign trained nurses in the UK, after the Philippines and India.
The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) has urged Abuja to regulate the emigration of nurses and midwives, saying it has a negative impact on the health sector.
Health sector experts, however, advocate better working conditions for doctors, nurses, and other health workers to regulate human capital export.
