Encounters of Kenyan nurse who aced ‘tough’ test to work in the UK

Nurses became the butt of jokes in November last year, when the government announced that a majority of them had failed to secure jobs in the United Kingdom (UK) due to poor command of the English language.

Former Health Cabinet Secretary, Mutahi Kagwe had stated that out of 300 health workers sent to undertake the prerequisite test, only 10 passed, prompting the government to initiate a training for the purposes of fulfilling the labour migration agreement entered with the UK last year.

Among those who excelled in the test at that time is Kevin Koech, who is now employed on a permanent basis at a London-based hospital.

“As I keep saying, English is not a measure of intelligence; it’s just that it’s important for effective communication,” he told Lifestyle when asked how he pulled through in the assessment that denied many a lifetime opportunity.

According to Kevin, he found the exam technical, so he employed a lot of keenness to earn the minimum of seven out of the nine possible points in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

“The test was in four categories: listening, speaking, writing and reading — all marked out of nine points. Reading was the hardest of the four, because you had to answer questions from three passages, which increased in complexity as you progressed,” he explained.

Apart from IELTS, nurses have an option of undertaking the Occupational English Test, which is focused on specific courses or careers.

Kevin, who hails from Kapsoit in Kericho County, had been called for a bachelor's degree in engineering at Dedan Kimathi University of Technology but opted to do nursing, following some research and advice from his high school principal.

After graduating, he worked in a number of hospitals, an experience that put him through a wringer as nurses in Kenya are overworked and underpaid. That nudged him to find greener pastures.

Six months

“I needed to work in a place where my skills will be appreciated, and pay commensurate with the work I do,” he said.

The United States became his dream destination, but after research, he realised that the application process takes longer; sometimes up to two years compared to the UK, that only takes six months.

After a painstaking process, he earned the requisite qualification by the Nursing and Midwifery Council in the UK, jetted out in November 2021 and started his induction. He earned the permanent terms in May.

At the London-based hospital, that he prefers not to name for fear of the unknown, he has to work for 37 and a half hours every week, which is a walk in the park compared to what Kenyan medics do. But for the sake of self-development, he chooses to cover the 37 hours in just three days, meaning he has to do an excess of 12-hour shifts. He uses the remaining days to attend to his studies and rest.

The nurse is currently doing a double master's in business management and healthcare management.

Sometimes, he chooses to work overtime, which fetches more money per-hour compared to ordinary shifts.

In the UK, depending on the level of experience, a nurse earns a salary of between £27,000 (Sh4 million) to £60,000 (Sh9 million) a year.

Asked to draw a comparison between local healthcare systems and that of the UK, Kevin says: “Healthcare knowledge is universal. A heart condition has the same symptoms world over, so treatment is the same.”

However, he noted a great difference in the way the UK system is organised. For instance, healthcare is 100 percent free and highly accessible for the citizens, and they focus on preventive medicine as opposed to curative.

Emergency section

There’s also a referral system from the grassroots called the General Practitioner Practice, where patients have to be attended to in clinics within the communities first then only those needing specialised attention are referred to the hospitals.

“In fact, hospitals will not attend to you unless you have been seen at the community level. In that arrangement, patients come with their medical history. It also helps to decongest the accident and emergency section,” says Kevin.

There’s also a close gap in the ratio between patients and healthcare workers. Unlike in Kenya, where specialist doctors only do hospital rounds once in a week, in the UK, consultants see patients on a daily basis and are the ones to make critical decisions like whether a patient should be discharged or not.

“In Kenya, under the county governments, the healthcare system is managed like a private business. It’s politicised and toxic,” Kevin regrets, noting that in some counties, nurses are paid a paltry Sh30,000, which is less than a half of what the Salaries and Remuneration Commission stipulates for diploma nurses.

 “What a time to be in London!” Kevin had posted on Facebook on September 18.

He was off-duty and had the chance to witness the funeral procession of Queen Elizabeth, as her body was being moved from Buckingham palace to Westminster Abbey.

Mental breakdown

“It was such a timely occurrence that might not be witnessed in several decades to come,” he says. “Heavy presence of presidents from across the globe was felt in London, some roads were even closed to allow their safe passage. It was also interesting to watch the English disciplined forces in action.”

When he is not working or schooling, Kevin loves to travel. He has been to Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and more. He has now scheduled a trip to Paris early next year, before coming back to Nairobi for the first time since he left. He misses Kenyan food and social life.

“To shock you, I have not seen some Kenyan friend who lives one floor above my apartment in three months,” he says. "Here, you can go for a month without chatting up a neighbour, which is why it’s easy to get a mental breakdown."

Although he has not faced any blatant case of racism, he says there are subtle racist comments that emerge in everyday conversations, passed off as jokes.

“There are also cases of institutionalised racism where promotions are sometimes done in favour of white staffers,” he notes.

About 20,000 nurses are expected to leave for Europe in three years, in an agreement signed by former President Uhuru Kenyatta with UK and Northern Ireland on July 29, 2021.

With the English language being one of the greatest impediments in the actualisation of the pact, the government in January started the retraining process with the first cohort of 300 nurses at the Kenya Medical Training College in Nairobi.

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