New RP-UK agreement assures fair employment of Filipino nurses in NHS trusts 

Ambassador Cesar B. Bautista and NHS Deputy Director David Amos shake hands after signing the new agreement on nurses

A new agreement was signed on 8 January 2002 which will ensure the fair and equitable employment of internationally recruited nurses from the Philippines in London’s National Health Service (NHS) trusts.

The agreement, between the governments of the UK and the Philippines and co-ordinated by the London Regional Office of the NHS and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), is the first of its kind between the two countries.

The agreement reinforces the important and positive contribution of internationally recruited healthcare professionals to the NHS. It ensures an equitable and ethical approach to the employment of these professionals following publication of the NHS Code of Practice on international recruitment in October last year. It sets out exacting standards in terms of recruitment, selection and employment and covers the induction process, including pre-departure orientation seminars, living and working in England and detailed supervised practice arrangements.

Signing the agreement on behalf of the Philippine Government, His Excellency, Ambassador Cesar Bautista said:

"This significant agreement underlies the partnership and cooperation between our two countries and our health services. Over the last few years, international recruitment has been substantially beneficial to staff from the Philippines and our respective health services. I welcome this agreement as an opportunity for the continuing exchange of expertise and best practice between nurses from the Philippines and their British colleagues. This is the first such agreement between our two countries, and it takes our partnership and cooperation to a higher level."

Present at the signing of the agreement were Consul Lilybeth Deapera, Philippine Labor Attaché Atty. Vicente Manzano, Consul Leo Herrera-Lim, Ambassador Bautista, Minister Gilbert Asuque, David Amos, Vice Consul Evangeline Ong Jimenez, NHS London Coordinator Jennifer Parr, Consul General Mario de Leon; and Filipino nurses Nemia Laburgas, Supervised Practice Nurse, Epsom and St Helier; Katherine Villegas, Staff Nurse, Hammersmith Hospital; Edgardo Mangila, from Guys and St Thomas; Ma Dolores Alvarez, from Guys and St Thomas; Annaliza Sevillano, from Guys and St. Thomas; and Constance Albornaz, from Guys and St. Thomas

Christine Beasley, Director of Nursing and Corporate Development for the London Region of the NHS remarked:

"The agreement benefits both nurses and patients by ensuring rigorous standards for the recruitment and employment of internationally qualified nurses. This means patients will continue to receive high standards of care from appropriately qualified and skilled nursing staff."

David Amos, Deputy Director of the NHS, signed the agreement on behalf of the UK government, specifically for the Department of Health.

Five Filipino nurses working for different NHS trusts in Greater London witnessed the signing.

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The agreement will be implemented within the scope of best practices in International Recruitment and will comply with the Guidance on International Recruitment and the Code of Practice for NHS Employers engaged in International Recruitment. It forms the basis of a cost-effective strategy for proceeding with International Recruitment from the Philippines to the NHS in London.

Latest provisional figures show that a quarter of the 10,000 extra nurses and midwives that came into the NHS in the twelve months up to September 2001 are now working in London, while updated statistics from Work Permits (UK) indicate that about 20,000 work permits have been issued to Philippine nationals, mostly nurses, in the past three years.

The first Filipino nurses recruited under this agreement weere selected during a pilot in October 2001 in Manila. They arrived in London on January 9, 2002 to take up their posts at the St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust, and at the Epsom and St. Helier NHS Trust.

Click here to see the text of the agreement