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The UK nursing crisis – 2021 and beyond

Healthcare all over the world has been severely impacted by the global pandemic, making it fragile and extremely vulnerable to meet the health needs of communities.

Regulators have witnessed a serious shortfall of health professionals and are facing increasing challenges in attracting qualified and competent staff while meeting their recruitment targets.

In December 2020, a report by the Health Foundation – Building the NHS Nursing Workforce in England – said the government will need to exceed its target of 50,000 new nurses in England by 2024/25 if it wants the NHS to fully recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

Responding to these findings, Royal College of Nursing chief executive and general secretary Dame Donna Kinnair said: “There simply aren’t enough [staff] to care safely for patients in hospitals, clinics, their own homes or anywhere else.”

This highlights the serious situation we face in the UK and the critical need to address nurse shortages around the country.

Nursing workforce crisis in the UK

In the UK before the coronavirus pandemic, there was already a shortage of around 50,000 nurses, and still the healthcare system is nowhere near bridging that gap. In January 2021, a survey by Nursing Times indicated that 80% of nurses feel patient safety is compromised due to this severe staff shortage. While there has been a good increase in the number of nursing students starting courses during 2020, this will not alleviate the issue of a lack of qualified nurses now or in the medium term.

There is an urgent need for government and regulators to work with key global partners to build a sustainable model that meets recruitment challenges and provides qualified and competent staff. This will help ease the burden on our ailing NHS and protect our patients and communities.

DataFlow Group – supporting healthcare globally

With over 15 years of experience, the DataFlow Group has empowered the recruiting process of many key healthcare regulators, authorities and medical facilities. In the last five years alone, it has successfully helped in licensing more than 135,000 nurses and 260,000 doctors, who applied through various authorities for work opportunities.

As a global pioneer of primary source verification (PSV), DataFlow ensures that the professionals hired are genuine, qualified and competent. It has the credibility, capability and experience to attract health professionals within countries and across borders quickly and at scale. By coupling advanced technology and best-in-class PSV and screening services, DataFlow has verified over 4.3 million credentials of professionals all over the world.

The future of hiring – a digitised application process

Combined with a robust applicant tracking system, DataFlow’s digitised verification and application methods ensure a more effective and efficient process for both regulators and applicants. What sets DataFlow apart is its extensive network of more than 100,000 issuing authorities, cutting-edge technology and in-house expertise to accurately evaluate and verify work and education documents from the issuing source. This leads to faster and accurate verification of the required credentials allowing the recruitment of the right person at the right time.

Customer excellence for applicants and authorities

DataFlow understands the significance and critical nature of screening and verifying staff in the healthcare sector. It has deployed experts in key talent marketplaces around the world, including some of the most challenging geographies. With its global reach and 100% focus on the applicant and regulator/authority experience, DataFlow continuously strives to provide modern solutions and premium customer service while adhering to the highest industry and security standards. This is supported by an uninterrupted 24/7 customer support service to assist applicants throughout the process, delivering its core promise – customer excellence.

Across the globe, key healthcare and education ministries have adopted DataFlow PSV as the methodology to authenticate the credentials of professionals applying for work licences, employment passes, or career opportunities. DataFlow’s screening and verification services safeguard healthcare regulators and authorities and eliminate the risk of hiring a professional who lacks the qualifications required for the job, thereby protecting patients and raising the standard of quality care provided to the community. A partnership with DataFlow not only brings in the quality of talented professionals that regulators and authorities seek but also allows a genuine and competent professional to pursue career opportunities in their country and across the globe.

To read more about how DataFlow supports authorities and regulators around the world visit corp.dataflowgroup.com/resources/case-studies

You can learn more about Dataflow Group’s services by visiting corp.dataflowgroup.com or by contacting healthcare@dataflowgroup.com

Facebook: facebook.com/thedataflowgroup
LinkedIn: The DataFlow Group
Twitter: @DataFlowGroup

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