University Hospitals of North Midlands (UHNM) has welcomed its largest cohort of overseas nurses to date.
Thirty international nurses from India and Botswana have joined the Trust, taking the total amount of overseas recruits to over 350 since the international nurse recruitment programme was launched in 2021.
They will support a wide range of wards and departments at both Royal Stoke University Hospital and County Hospital in Stafford.
Each of the nurses are qualified in their own country but are required to complete the Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE) to become a Nursing and Midwifery Council-recognised nurse in the UK.
They are currently in a four-week induction period with the corporate nursing team where they will be supported with opening a bank account, registering with a GP practice, and also given pastoral support to ensure an easy transition to living in the UK and working at UHNM.
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 so we have now developed a task and finish group to look into how we develop our international nurses, and this will be the next stage of our project once the recruitment phase is complete.
“I would like to thank all our wards and departments for being so supportive of our international nurses and for integrating them so well since joining UHNM.”
Tracy Bullock, UHNM Chief Executive, added: “I am delighted to welcome our latest cohort of overseas nurses to UHNM.
“It is fantastic we have been able to recruit over 300 nurses since the programme was first launched providing care for patients at Royal Stoke and County Hospital.
“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 within their roles and careers at UHNM.”
