Those in nurse manager jobs may have to support their employees in learning more about migrant health issues, and how to treat migrant patients effectively.

According to the Health Protection Agency (HPA), nurses must become better placed to take care of their migrant patients, and has published a guide advising them how to to do so. It is thought the guide will mean nurses "have at their fingertips" information on diseases, illness and conditions associated with around 100 countries across the world.

The guide has been met with praise from many medical professionals, and the HPA has given its opinion on why the guide is so important. Speaking to Nursing Times, the chair of the HPA, Dr David Heymann, said: "Disease doesn't recognise geographical borders."

"It's crucial that primary care practitioners expand their knowledge of the health issues associated with countries outside the UK, if we are to tackle pressing global health issues such as TB, HIV and malaria, to name but a few."

Additionally, the leading medical expert behind the guide, Dr Jane Jones of the HPA, commented: "More people in the world are migrating today than at any other point in human history."

"One consequence of this change is that primary care practitioners in the UK may be caring for patients with health issues with which they are unfamiliar, and they need information and support to be able to do this with confidence," she added on Mddus.com.

"We hope that through providing this support, practitioners will be better placed to look after their migrant patients. Knowing the right issues to consider, based in part of a person's country of origin, can mean the difference between a health problem going undetected and the patient accessing appropriate care and support services."