The International Council of Nurses said that the wave of COVID-19 infections has caused wealthy countries to intensify their recruitment of nurses from poorer parts of the world, worsening staffing shortages in overstretched workforces there.
The Geneva-based group that represents 27 million nurses and 130 national organisations said that absentee rates have been at a level not seen since the two-year epidemic due to the severity of the sickness, burnout and staff departures due to surging Omicron cases.
Western countries have responded by hiring army personnel as well as volunteers and retirees, but many have stepped up international recruitment as part of a trend that is worsening health inequity, he said.
Catton said in a Reuters interview that he co-authored a report on COVID 19 and the global nursing force, there has been an increase in international recruitment to places like the UK, Germany, Canada and the United States.
I really fear this quick fix solution is a bit similar to what we have seen with PPE personal protective equipment and vaccines where rich countries have used their economic might to buy and hoard if they do that with the nursing work force, it will make the injustice worse. According to ICN data, there was a global shortage of 6 million nurses before the epidemic, with almost 90% of those shortages in low and lower-middle-income countries.
Some of the recent recruits to rich countries have come from sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, and parts of the Caribbean, Catton said. Nurses were often motivated by higher salaries and better terms than at home.
The ICN report said that the process was facilitated by giving nurses preferred immigration status.
He said that some people would look at this and say that this is rich countries which are off-loading the costs of education for nurses and health workers.
Even wealthy countries will struggle to cope with the mountains of unmet care when the epidemic winds down, Catton warned, calling for more investment and a ten-year plan to strengthen the work force.
He said we need a co-ordinated, collaborative, concerted global effort that is underpinned by serious investment, not just warm words and platitudes and applause.