UK shuts door for foreign nurses

Scratch Britain out as a destination for our nurses. I was just talking with Danny Buenafe, Europe Bureau chief for ABS-CBN News based in London, and according to him, the British Home Office is removing general nursing from the "shortage occupation list" starting Aug. 7. This means, it would be more difficult for private entities to get work permits that would enable them to hire additional foreign nurses.

Based on a report filed by Danny and aired by ABS-CBN News, this drastic move was taken by the British Home Office because of the continued financial problems of the National Health Service Trust and the budget deficit of a number of hospitals. Last April, the British government extended the residency status of foreign workers from four to five years. The majority of OFWs in the United Kingdom are health workers.

Actually, Danny reports, even those nurses currently employed at UK hospitals, will also find it more difficult to renew or extend their work permits. This is why, Danny reports, a large number of these nurses are now looking for alternative employment in other countries. But those with existing work permits will not be affected for now.

A new points system has also been instituted, requiring every nurse applicant to go through exhaustive examination before a work permit is issued. This is in line with a new British immigration policy that favors the entry of only most skilled workers into the country. Graduates of Philippine diploma mills need not apply.

Well, this latest development only shows exactly what we have been warning about in this column. It is not right for our government to rely too heavily on our being able to deploy our workers abroad to assure our country’s economic stability. At best, the OFW strategy is a stop gap measure. Unfortunately, because of our government’s failure to get our economy to take off, deployment of our workers abroad has become the pillar of our economic development strategy.

While there is no question about the desirable work record of our OFWs, our ability to continually deploy them abroad depends on a number of factors beyond our control. First of all, it depends on the continuing ability of the countries that traditionally absorb our workers to do so. Then there is this growing restiveness worldwide about the influx of foreign workers, forcing many governments to adopt immigration policies that make it more difficult for our workers to get work permits or even migrate on a long term basis.

The other important lesson with this report from London is that we cannot put our collective hopes and dreams on dispatching nurses indefinitely to any country, no matter how receptive the country had been to this arrangement in the past. Then, there is the need to maintain quality standards because even in this particular case with our nurses in Britain, there seems to be hope for the most qualified nurses to stay. Graduates of diploma mills, those who got inadequate training, can only kiss their dreams of working abroad goodbye.

Next to the United States, the United Kingdom is probably the most important market for our nurses. Now, those still studying to be nurses face the possibility of being disappointed, if as Danny Buenafe reports, this particularly big market really closes down for good.

What is happening for nurses in Britain can happen to other professions in other countries. This is why we have to urgently work together to repair our economy so that our economy can be better managed by not being overly dependent on OFW earnings .

UST Hospital

Here is the continuation of the reponse of Dr.W. Olalaia, UST Hospital chief operating officer to an column item on the spin-off of the hospital from the UST College of Medicine.

The UST Hospital’s audited financial statements of the last eight years will show that the restructuring was not only the right medicine for the institution’s severely ailing condition prior to 2005 when the spin-off was formalized. Incorporation was also a desperate response to an emergency case.

To illustrate, at end of its FY 2004, the hospital had posted incurred losses of over P100 million over the years put together, had booked past-due obligations amounting to P80 million, and a cash position good only for half a day, To make things worse, suppliers began to withhold credit support because of extremely delayed, if not non-payment, of the hospital’s POs.

The UST Hospital itself, unable to implement equipment and technology upgrades, was only 48 percent competitive in terms of the currency of its infrastructure vs. that of its industry peers. Add to this the creeping demoralization among the medical staff and rank and file employees as they struggled with meager resources to continue delivering the same high standards of medical service and health care that UST Hospital is known for.

Between 1996 and 2004 alone, prior to incorporation, the UST Hospital had had five turnovers of its senior management team (CEOs and department heads). None of the five teams had been able to arrest the bleeding. Thus, the hospital became increasingly less able to play its role as a provider of medical services as well as a teaching hospital

With the hospital’s spin off, the University thus also reaffirmed its commitment to continue supporting the hospital in reasserting itself as the country’s premiere University Hospital and provider of the highest quality of health services and the best in medical education, training and research. The only other option at that time was to close the hospital down.

The results of this action of the University are there for all to see.

Within the first year (FY 2005) from the assumption to management of the incumbent Hospital Administration Team and Board of Trustees, the hospital’s financials (audited by the Laya Mananghaya) had been successfully turned around. At the end of that fiscal year, the hospital recorded a very positive P35.8 million in net earnings, thus making the prospects of continuity brighter. The hospital replicated this performance in the following fiscal year, or FY 2006 (July 2005 to June 2006) with net earnings of P36.9 million, thus laying the basis for future growth.

The improvement in its financials has enabled the UST Hospital to increase the occupancy of its 460 charity beds from a previous 40 percent to a high of 55 percent and its subsidy to the charity division by up to 60 percent. The amount of free cash flow the hospital now generates has made it possible to upgrade its equipment and technologies, serve an enlarged patient base, assume a pioneering role in medical tourism, and enhance its competitiveness.

To appreciate the degree of its recovery in just two short years under the new structure, management team and Board, the UST Hospital will be inaugurating in August its new P350 million, state of the art, built to suit Benavidez Cancer Institute, including building and equipment.

Segurista

Marilyn Mana-ay Robles sent this one.

A fellow bought a new Mercedes and was out on an interstate for a nice evening drive. The top was down, the breeze was blowing through his hair, and he decided to open her up. As the needle jumped up to 80 mph he suddenly saw a flashing red and blue light behind him.

"There is no way they can catch a Mercedes," he thought to himself and opened her up further. The needle hit 90, 100 110 and finally 120 with the lights still behind him. Suddenly the man thought. "What am I doing?" and pulled over.

The cop came up to him, took his license without a word and examined it and the car. "I’ve had a tough shift and this is my last pull over. I really don’t feel like more paperwork, so if you can give me an excuse that I haven’t heard before, you can go!"

Thinking quickly, the man said, "Last week my wife ran off with a cop, and I was afraid you were trying to give her back!"

"Have a nice night," said the officer, closing his ticket book and walking back to his patrol car.

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]