The Royal College of Nursing has warned that the UK may be on the verge of a nursing crisis as an unprecedented number of nurses are migrating to Australia.

In 2007, a record 5,000 British nurses formally signalled an intention to take up work in Australian hospitals, having been lured by attractive offers and an unparalleled lifestyle. Indeed, numbers of nurses making Australian visa applications have been so high that the RNC has highlighted the need for Britain to retain the nurses which it was producing.

Howard Catton, head of policy for the RNC, explained  that he has met Australian employers who had come to the UK to recruit up to 60 nurses at a time, but who had in fact ended up making offers to twice that number.

Despite being wary of the record numbers of UK-trained nurses taking up employment in Australia, Mr. Catton admitted that he understood how attractive many of the offers were. He said:

“The Australians have stepped up their recruitment activity on the basis of what they believe is unemployment and downsizing in the UK. 

“There is a belief that in the UK we don't need the nurses we've got - but we know we do need them.

“The Australian recruitment agencies that I've spoken to since I've been here are making very attractive offers.

“It's not just the starting salaries. The packages include air travel - for nurses' families as well - relocation expenses, temporary accommodation and the promise that they'll support an application for permanent residency.
“A couple of employers even offer a 'meet and greet' service at the airport with chauffeur-driven limousines, so the nurses are made to feel welcome as soon as their feet touch the ground.

“Nurses have always historically left the UK and gone to Australia but the numbers have doubled recently.”