The UK has updated its guidelines for hiring foreign healthcare professionals.
Ghana has been added to the red list of nations in England's newly amended code of practice for the foreign hiring of health and social care professionals, which means "no active recruiting is permitted."
Apart from Ghana, the UK listed 53 other nations as not being actively sought out for employment by companies in the health and social care sector.
Before conducting any recruiting drive, it is advised that employers, recruitment organizations, agencies, partnerships, and contractual bodies check the red country list for updates.
The code defined active international recruitment as the method by which UK health and social care employers (including local authorities), contracting bodies, recruitment organizations, agencies, collaborations, and subcontractors target people to market UK employment opportunities with the intention of hiring them for a position in the UK health or social care sector. Targeting can take place physically or virtually, and it can result in real employment or not.
The code of practice is applicable to the hiring of all foreign nationals working in the UK's health and social care sectors, including all permanent, temporary, and locum employees working in both clinical and non-clinical contexts.
This includes but is not limited to, allied health professionals, care providers, dental professionals, medical professionals, medical staff, midwives, nursing professionals, residential and domiciliary care providers, social workers, and support personnel.
Remember that the UK halted the hiring of healthcare professionals from other nations in 2021, citing the threat posed by the rising volume of health and social care worker migration from low- and lower-middle-income countries.
The countries placed on the UK's red list of 'No active recruitment' are Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia.
Other nations include Timor-Leste, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Republic of Yemen, Federated States of Micronesia, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, Rwanda, Samoa, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.