Over a hundred Filipino nurses due in January

Ten Italian nurses arrived in September as part of a European recruitment drive.

Health Minister Michelle O’Neill said they were taking up roles in the Trust when asked by SDLP health spokesperson Mark. H. Durkan for her assessment of community nursing provision in the Trust.

She said: “I am aware there is a shortfall in registered nurses in community and acute services across the Western Health and Social Care Trust.

“The Trust is taking forward a number of actions to address this shortfall. “These include: A working group to review and streamline processes to improve the effectiveness of recruitment of band 5 registered nurses;

Active engagement in the Regional International Nurse Recruitment Campaign, which has resulted in offers of employment to 106 nurses from the Philippines due to arrive in January 2017; and participation in one European Recruitment event, which resulted in 16 offers of employment to Italian nurses, 10 of which arrived in September 2016.”