Cash boost to lure UK nurses abroad

Nurse leaders call for more investment in the profession

Nurses could boost their salary by up to £50,000 if they take jobs abroad, according to a survey.

British nurses taking jobs in the US could triple their salaries and those moving to Australia or Germany could double their wages, it said.

Nursing leaders are now warning the government must fight to stem the skills drain.

Dr Beverly Malone, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said she wanted to see "serious investments" to stop nurses leaving the UK for overseas.

Knowing what I could earn abroad makes me feel undervalued in this country

Bunis Packham

Investment

"We know that competition for nurses internationally is likely to increase over the next few years.

"To attract nurses and especially to keep them for the long term, the Government needs to invest seriously in the workforce through pay, careers structure and employee friendly practices.

Nurses could triple their salaries

"At the centre of this is patient care which can only be delivered by a well equipped, fairly paid and respected nurse workforce."

The study, by Nursing Standard magazine, took the CVs of three senior nurses in the UK and then showed them to health recruiters overseas.

Survey results

Bunis Packham, a 38-year-old anti-coagulant nurse found that she would be nearly £50,000 better off in the States.

She told Nursing Standard: "Knowing what I could earn abroad makes me feel undervalued in this country."

Paul Jebb earns £22,440 as a charge nurse, but he could be offered £36,000 in Germany; £44,500 in Australia and up to £74,000 in the US.

And Jane Scullion, a respiratory nurse consultant in Leicestershire and a part-time clinical fellow at Aberdeen University found she could boost her salary from £36,880 to £68,000 if she relocated to Germany; £45,000 in Australia and up to £85,000 in the US.