Spanish nurses fly in to ease NHS crisis
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Dozens of Spanish nurses flew into Britain from Madrid yesterday as part of a pilot scheme to fill acute staff shortages in four hospital trusts in the north-west where posts have been unfilled for at least six months. The pioneering drive was agreed by British and Spanish governments and could include doctors.
Dozens of Spanish nurses flew into Britain from Madrid yesterday as part of a pilot scheme to fill acute staff shortages in four hospital trusts in the north-west where posts have been unfilled for at least six months. The pioneering drive was agreed by British and Spanish governments and could include doctors.
The first contingent of 63 fully qualified nurses arrived in Manchester and headed for contract posts in hospitals in Blackpool, Blackburn, Morecambe and Preston. Twelve others follow shortly and more applicants are being interviewed. This is the first time an area health authority has directly recruited abroad under a government-to-government scheme, without the intermediary of a private agency.
The Health Secretary, Alan Milburn, signed the historic agreement with Spain last November to recruit up to 5,000 nurses to ease Britain's chronic shortages. All the nurses are fully qualified and fluent in English but will undergo a course in technical language used in hospitals before they begin work on the wards.
"The response was overwhelming," said Vivienne Pilkington, head of recruitment and retention of the National Health Executive North-West, who was in Madrid the check the arrangements. "From one advertisement, the message has spread like wildfire by word of mouth. We have been very impressed with the clinical competence and level of English of the nurses we recruited."
Marta Torres, 23, from a small town 50km from Madrid, said she's happy at the prospect of working in Lancaster hospital in Morecambe. "You have to live away from your home for a while, it helps you mature. I'm looking forward to improving my English and my nursing skills."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments