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Dreams, Pride & Sacrifice: The African Women Who Left Their Children Behind To Work In The NHS

From the late 90s to early 2000s, nurses were recruited from West and South Africa to work in the NHS because there was a huge shortage in nurses and doctors. The UK had been desperately registering trained nurses from outside the country for many years. Nurses saw this as an opportunity to rebuild lives in the United Kingdom for themselves and their families. But many of the nurses that registered with the UKCC (United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting) from Africa had to make a big decision to relocate and leave their children behind. 

The UKCC changed its name in April 2002 to NMC (Nurses and Midwife Council). The NMC is responsible for nurses and midwives in the UK and you cannot practise as a nurse or midwife in the UK without a registration pin and qualified certification.