The British government has been warned of a deepening labor crisis in hospitals in England that cannot fill tens of thousands of nursing vacancies, the Observer reported.
Hospital officials said the nursing shortage was exacerbated by difficulties in recruiting workers from Europe.
The latest figures from the National Health Service show that there are about 39,000 nursing vacancies in England, with the most alarming situation in hospitals in the capital London and the south-east of England, BNR reported.
The number of EEA nurses on the Council’s register of nurses and midwives has fallen by 90% since 2016. The government has pledged to increase the number of nurses in national health care by 50,000 by 2025.
Last September, £ 28 million was set aside for the recruitment of sisters from abroad, their accommodation and flights. However, a report from think tank Nuffield says that for the government to achieve its goal, it will need to attract more workers from abroad.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is already under serious pressure over the country’s post-Brexit labor shortage, from truck drivers to agricultural workers. Public health concerns about a shortage of nurses are now heightened after experts warned that up to 60,000 people could die from seasonal flu this winter.