Telford Welcomes New Nurses for PRH
The first group of Staff Nurses recruited from the Philippines have started work at Telford’s acute hospital.
April Napala, Noeleen Andal and Von Bumatay joined the Trust last month and following induction they have now started on wards at the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford. They follow nine other new recruits who joined the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) in October and November. A total of 12 Staff Nurses have joined the Trust from the Philippines after having their Certificates of Sponsorship approved. More recruits are due to join next month, subject to final checks and international clearance.
A total of 60 qualified nurses from the Philippines are in the process of being recruited, after accepting conditional offers to work at the RSH or PRH. Helen Jenkinson, Deputy Director of Nursing and Quality at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs RSH and PRH, said: “We are delighted to welcome more new recruits from the Philippines to join our nursing teams at PRH and RSH.
“I’m sure they will quickly settle on their wards, where we expect them to display the caring and compassionate qualities we rightly require to provide the highest standard of care possible for our patients.”
Elsewhere, a total of 34 Staff Nurses have also been recruited from Portugal, Spain, Italy, Denmark and Finland since June this year. SaTH is looking at a number of initiatives to recruit more Staff Nurses and Healthcare Assistants both from across the UK and abroad. The Trust has also launched a new recruitment campaign called “Belong to Something” which highlights all of the job opportunities at the organisation. Find out more at www.belongtosomething.co.uk, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SaTHJobs and on Twitter search for “SaTHJobs”.
The shortage of trained healthcare professionals isn’t a problem with a local solution. Importing staff from abroad is papering over the cracks. The Department of Health limits the number of places universities can offer for medical degrees which causes shortages that are then plugged with cheaper imported labour. This takes away medical staff from developing countries that really can’t afford to lose the people they’ve invested so much time and money in. We need more investment in developing our own young people so we have enough doctors and nurses to meet our needs without plundering developing nations for the professionals that they desperately need themselves.