76 Kenyan Nurses Head to the UK
Kenya has sent a second group of nurses to the United Kingdom as part of a bilateral health partnership agreement between the two nations.
Monday, Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha and UK Development Director Leigh Stubblefield sent off 76 unemployed nurses who will be posted in hospitals across the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.
The medical personnel, chosen from over 700 applicants, will depart the country on August 24. They will be integrated into the National Health Service, the publicly funded healthcare system in the United Kingdom.
Under the July 2021 Memorandum of Understanding, Kenya plans to send 20,000 nurses to UK hospitals to enhance the welfare of its migrant workers abroad.
The first group of 19 nurses to depart for the United Kingdom was selected from 3,329 applicants last year.
By the terms of the bilateral agreement, the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) began providing English training to nurses.
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According to then-Health Cabinet Secretary Kagwe, the training will enhance the English skills of nurses, who make up 30 percent of KMTC’s population of 12,000, making them more “internationally competitive.”
The minister stated at the time that Kenya will only dispatch individuals who have not yet been absorbed by the local labor market.
To be eligible for employment in the United Kingdom under this program, applicants must be Kenyan citizens with a diploma or bachelor’s degree in nursing from a school recognized in Kenya.
In addition to being registered and licensed by the Nursing Council of Kenya, the healthcare worker must also possess a police clearance certificate.
Successful candidates must complete training before departing for the United Kingdom and pass the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or the Occupational English Test (OET), in addition to the Computer-Based Test (CBT).
Kenya also aims to import healthcare professionals from the United Kingdom, although the Health Ministry has not yet disclosed when or how many employees the country will receive.
76 Kenyan Nurses Head to the UK