Seven nurses from India have joined Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) as part of an international recruitment project, the first of its kind at the Trust for more than 20 years.
The qualified nurses joined the Trust in October and are set to be joined by a further three colleagues later this month.
Sean Leahy, Executive Director of People and Culture at EPUT, said: “We are proud to host an international workforce. Our priority is to provide the best possible care to patients – sourcing talent globally supports us to do that by broadening the skills and experience of our workforce and providing fresh ideas to help drive forward innovation across our services.”
The Trust hopes to recruit at least another 50 nurses from overseas by March 2022, following funding received from NHS England to help boost international recruitment.
Natasha Kew, Project Manager at EPUT, said: “The international nurses we are recruiting will bring rich and valuable knowledge to our workforce and I feel privileged to be a part of an international recruitment project that is bringing talent and clinical expertise to Essex from across the globe.”
Nisha Mathew, one of the Trust’s new nurses, is a graduate with more than 11 years’ experience and has worked as a registered nurse in the United Arab Emirates for the last nine years. Nisha, who is now living in the Harlow area, said: “I always knew I wanted to live abroad and I chose to work in England for several reasons. I’m absolutely in love with this country’s beauty and landscapes and know what fantastic opportunities working for the NHS can bring.
“EPUT was recommended to me because the Trust offers great career development opportunities, training and staff benefits. The recruitment experience has been well organised from start to finish and the support I’ve received from the project team has helped me transition to a new country and nursing community.”
To help its new colleagues transition as smoothly as possible to nursing in the UK, the Trust has set up a mentorship programme which sees experienced psychological therapists who joined the UK workforce from overseas guide the nurses through the moving and settling in process. The international recruits receive development training, are supported to develop clinical, supervisory and leadership skills and given the opportunity to achieve accreditation from the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), enabling them to practice in the UK.
For more information about working at EPUT and our current vacancies, visit the ‘Working here’ section of our website.