Trust recruits 30 overseas nurses as part of successful campaign
An international recruitment programme, which is due to end in December, has seen 352 overseas nurses enrich the workforce at a Midlands trust
More than 350 overseas nurses will have joined a Midlands hospital trust by the end of this year following a successful international recruitment campaign.
Latest cohort is largest to begin work under trust’s international recruitment programme
A group of 30 nurses from India and Botswana are the latest to take up jobs at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM).
This is the largest cohort of overseas-trained nurses the trust has recruited to date with the new staff set to be deployed in a wide range of wards and departments at Royal Stoke University Hospital and County Hospital in Stafford.
The nurses, who joined the trust towards the end of October, will have a four-week induction including support to open a bank account, registering with a GP and settling into life in the UK.
The trust’s international nurse recruitment programme launched in 2021 and is set to conclude in December. International nurse lead Stella Underwood said: ‘By the end of the year we will have employed 352 international nurses and this has played a huge role in reducing nursing vacancies across the trust.
‘Three of our international nurses are now in band 6 positions and we are keen to maximise the experience that our international nurses bring.’
She said the trust had established a task and finish group to look at opportunities for staff development.
Overseas nurse recruits have enriched trust’s workforce
Trust chief executive Tracy Bullock said: ‘The nurses we have already employed have proven to be a huge asset to the organisation and have enriched our workforce and I know our latest cohort will continue to do this.
‘I hope they all enjoy working at UHNM and I am looking forward to seeing them grow in their roles and careers.’
UHNM is one of many trusts turning to international recruitment, which is a key part of government strategy to address widespread nursing vacancies.
Trusts have sought to improve support for nurses recruited from abroad, but a recent report by the Nursing and Midwifery Council found many felt their skills and experience were not properly valued and had experienced overt racism and other forms of discrimination.
The report found a higher proportion of overseas staff had left the NMC register within the first five years than other staff groups.
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