The director of Royal College of Nursing Scotland says a UK immigration system based on salaries fails to recognise the vital role of care workers – with the potential of a serious knock-on effect for healthcare.

Theresa Fyffe’s comments coincided with a Scottish government-led debate in the Scottish parliament calling for an end to the categorisation of key workers, including care professionals, as ‘low skilled’, which MSPs say fails to recognise the social value importance and skills that they bring to their roles.

The UK government has set a salary threshold of £26,500 on people migrating to the UK to work – above the rate paid by many care services - and has declined to include care workers either on the Shortage Occupation List or as eligible for a Health and Care Visa.

The RCN says international nursing staff have always played a vital part in sustaining Scotland’s health and care services.

Director Theresa Fyffe says, while international recruitment cannot be used as a substitute for appropriate domestic training and supply, with workforce shortages continuing, it’s clear that international recruitment must continue so that patients and care home residents can receive safe and effective care:

“The pandemic has revealed how reliant the NHS is on good social care and vice versa – they cannot be viewed as separate services. It has also highlighted that low wage is in no way synonymous to the skill or value of a professional. For example, a healthcare support worker working with a registered nurse to provide end of life care in a care home, is carrying out a skilled and fundamentally important role which must be better valued.

“Our care system has been heavily reliant on international staff, yet the UK government’s proposals continue to ignore the significant risk to this sector. Our future immigration system must not use arbitrary salary levels as the primary determinant of a person’s ability to work in the UK.”

RCN Scotland gave evidence to the Westminster Scottish affairs committee last week alongside Unison and Scottish care, warning of a looming staffing crisis in the nation’s care sector.

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