This project investigated various routes of entry to the UK of labour migrants coming from a single source country. Additionally, face-to-face interviews were conducted with recruiters, experts and healthcare professionals involved in training and administration in the Philippines. A total of 73 transcripts were compiled, 19 from care home assistants/nurses, 19 from domestic workers, 18 from hospital nurses, 13 from Philippine fieldwork (including student nurses), 2 from UK based recruitment agencies, 1 from a migrant organisation and 1 from a UK care home. Data and literature on health worker emigration patterns were gathered from local research bodies. The mission of the Centre is to provide a strategic, integrated approach to understanding contemporary and future migration dynamics across sending areas and receiving contexts in the UK and EU. In 2003, Filipinos made up the largest and most visible group of internationally recruited nurses in the UK. Of roughly 13,000 overseas nationals registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) that year, around 5,600, or almost half, came from the Philippines. They also figured prominently in private care homes and in the provision of care in private households. While there are various nationalities contributing to the care workforce, this project narrowed its focus on care workers from the Philippines due to it being a sector that is heavily segmented by ‘race,’ nationality, as well as immigration status. Focusing on one nationality also allowed us to investigate various routes of entry in the UK of labour migrants coming from a single source country. Additionally, fieldwork was carried out in the Philippines between November and December 2004 in order to asses the effect of nursing and care work recruitment from the sending country perspective. A series of interviews were conducted with recruiters, academics, experts and healthcare professionals involved in training and administration. Data and literature on health worker emigration patterns were gathered from local research bodies. The following findings were observed: (1) Many care workers arrived in the UK via other countries, highlighting the wide scope of multinational recruitment agencies. (2) Filipino care workers arriving via Singapore and the Middle East tended to enter via student visas, but employers assigned them more work than their immigration status allowed (they worked 35-40 hours compared to the regulated 20 hours) (3) Nurses working in care homes experienced more difficulty applying for registration, and were in some cases discouraged by employers. (4) Regulatory conditions differ significantly between public and private care providers. Recruitment to private nursing homes is particularly unregulated.
73 face-to-face interviews were conducted and transcribed from 19 care home assistants/nurses, 19 domestic workers, 18 hospital nurses, 13 Philippine fieldwork (including student nurses), 2 UK based recruitment agencies, a migrant organisation and a UK care home. No sampling method was used, it was totally universe. Data and literature on health worker emigration patterns were gather from local research bodies.