Derry nurses sought for English hospitals

A recruiter at a leading English private mental health care provider has told the '˜Journal' that Derry remains a rich seam of nursing talent for hospitals across the Irish Sea.
Ulster University, Magee.Ulster University, Magee.
Ulster University, Magee.

Mark Coningsby, who will be in the city next week looking for newly qualified and student nurses to work at Elysium Healthcare’s 40 hospitals across England and Wales said Derry retains its long-standing reputation for producing top quality nurses.

Mr. Consingby will be among a team from Elysium interviewing for preceptorships - effectively apprenticehsip periods for newly-qualified nurses - in the Bishop’s Gate Hotel next Monday and Tuesday.

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“We have 40 units all over England and Wales where there are not enough nurses unlike in Northern Ireland where there are not enough nursing jobs.

“This makes it more difficult to recruit staff. It’s an odd thing. In staffing terms its almost like bed-blocking where you have all these newly qualified nurses but not enough posts for them,” said the firm’s Preceptorship Academy Supervisior and University Lead.

He said Elysium is recruiting to a variety of mental health positions and that Ulster University’s School of Nursing at Magee has provided many staff over the years.

“For the last five or six years we have been coming over to Magee and while last year we only recruited one nurse, we normally recruit about four or five each year,” said the personnel chief.

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“We’ve always done well. When other interviewers who are coming over to Derry ask me what to expect, I always say to them, to be fair, you’re going to be impressed.

“The standard in Derry is really high. The course at Magee itself has only so many places but is oversubscribed every year so the standard’s really high to start off with,” added Mr. Consingby.

Elysium will be recruiting in the Bishop’s Gate Hotel next Monday and Tuesday. Prospective applicants are asked to bring a C.V. and photographic identification.

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