Iv just discovered that an acquaintance of mine, who was trained by the Nhs in nursing, and is on 28k a year,,

might be going abroad to work, only a year after he got the final qualifications.

As it must of cost 1000's and 1000's of taxpayers money to train him, should he now stay within the Nhs? I feel before the costly training is given, their contracts should state they have to work in the Nhs for a lengthy period, and, should any person in these instances be made to re-pay the training costs?

Lobster, a good point. It just seems such a waste. I work with someone who's wife trained as a midwife, and was going to leave straight away to go to New zealand knowing she would have a well paid job. That just seems far too calculated and morrally wrong.

Since we also get people trained overseas who come to work here, I think it balances itself out nicely, so I wouldn't worry about it :)

edit re your additional details: I take your point, but the only alternative would be to attach a "ball and chain" to trainees, to insist that they do x years in the NHS after training: I'd be worried that it would dissuade quite a few people from taking it up...

As has been recorded that there are nearly twice as many qualified nurses for each post available in the NHS unless many find work in the prtivate sector or abroad they will be unemployed.
We have to trian more than we need due to staff turnover, retirement,sickness, maternity and drop out rates etc.
Unfortunately for us the NHS actually needs more nurses than it can afford, ironically increasing the wages has attracted at lot more people into nursing in particular and the NHS in general. Sadly the money has runout and cannot keep pace with the growth required as taxes are spent elsewhere and must now start to be used to pay the PFI arrangements made to build the hospitals.

The solution would be to increase taxation further, I don't think many people would find that acceptable.

well yes in a perfect society.
but we have a conman, swindling, backstabbing all those around me & stuff everyone else society, don't we?
this is one of those things that the Government needs to address, along with other irregularities that i read about, everyday
most if not all newly qualified nurses do not have NHS jobs to go to, contary to what they'd been told at the start of their training.

the NHS is having the guts torn out of it as more more demand is put on it.
i discovered recently that it now covers the Prison Service, the Military & various other departments that it didn't exist before!

your outrage is one in a growing pile of what is wrong with this country.
the government need to wise up & do it soon!

I believe that whilst training to be a nurse a lot of the training is actually done "on The job" So if the NHS were not training too many nurses There would be more jobs for the fully trained....But the trouble is this would be too expensive so they go for the cheaper option..
Another problem with the NHS is too many way overpaid management who hardly do any work for their money.. If anything needs to be streamlined within the NHS it is this...trouble is the ppl who do the streamlining are not going to threaten their own jobs...They would prefer to put a patients life on the line by cutting down on nursing staff.

Yes, you've got a good point and much of the training in the U.K is to a high standard as apposed to that learnt by many foreign staff with qualifications from Bonga Bonga University.