Nurses trained abroad told to pay more than £1,000 if they want to register to help UK’s coronavirus fight Exclusive: The Government faces calls to relax the registration rules during the Covid-19 emergency

Qualified nurses who have trained abroad are being told they must wait weeks and pay more than £1,000 if they want to register to help out with the coronavirus crisis.

The Government faces calls to start actively recruiting foreign-trained medical staff who are currently living in the UK, and to waive the registration fee charged by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has started an emergency recruitment drive to try and draw retired medics back into the NHS in order to cope with the fallout from the Covid-19 epidemic. Students doctors and nurses who are nearing the end of their course are being fast-tracked to allow them to work in hospitals immediately.

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But so far the NHS has declined to make it easier for UK residents to register as medical practitioners if they have previously registered in another country. There are already more than 50,000 doctors working in Britain who did their training in another country.

‘Time of crisis’

One US-trained nurse with five years’ experience, who is now studying for a PhD in London, told i: “I went online to see if I could register because of the crisis situation, and I was told it would cost more than £1,000.

“It’s a bit of a shame that they are not reducing the barriers that normally make sense to have, but not a time of crisis… London’s such an international city and there are a lot of people who have left the bedside and gone into research, they are probably not registered.”

Nurses who have registered abroad must pay at least £1,170 in fees, sit two skills tests and prove they are fluent in English. The process usually takes a minimum of seven weeks.

Law change call

Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Munira Wilson has written to Mr Hancock calling for him to relax the existing rules temporarily. She said: “If the message is ‘Your NHS Needs You’, why does that not apply to all medically trained staff?

“At this time of crisis, we should be welcoming anyone who can help. I am therefore writing to you to remove these financial barriers by waiving fees for foreign-trained medical staff, promote this option in the Government’s campaign to recruit medical staff and provide the necessary training and refresher courses.”

The party is planning to table an amendment to the Coronavirus Bill being debated in Parliament this week to waive fees and expedite the registration process.

A source from NHS England said the service was currently focussing on bringing back retired staff rather than recruiting medics trained abroad. The Department of Health declined to comment.