Mr. Edward Mathews:

The issue is one of emigration. There are elements of emigration that have always occurred in terms of health professionals from which we have all benefited. The difficulty is the net migration figure, which has not resulted in people coming home. The difficulty with a scholarship scheme is the inherent inequity and unfairness of people being trained and provided with a level of education in respect of a particular occupational group being disadvantaged because the terms and conditions are such that they would not be retained but would be instead indentured into the service. What we need are the terms and conditions and work environments that people want to work in.

We must become an employer of choice. An employer of choice in nursing and midwifery has proper terms and conditions of employment and comparable working hours with other health professionals. One of the greatest barriers for our colleagues is the availability of a reasonable and certain career progression ladder. They must have opportunities that allow them to move to a specialist or advanced role. Our graduates will be on Skype interviews with London hospitals offering them immediate specialist placements, immediate education and immediate advancement. They will also be on Skype interviews with New Zealand and other jurisdictions such as Australia, Canada and the United States, all immediately offering them jobs while here they cannot get a promise that they can even work in a particular department for a particular period, never mind a promise that they will have opportunities for career advancement. We need to address those issues and become an employer of choice. We need people who want to work in our system rather than people who are indentured to the service.