96 retired health workers join over 200 students to battle COVID-19 in the Western Trust

Almost 600 job applications are currently being processed in the Western Trust while over 200 students - medical, nursing and social work - joined the authority this week.

Nearly a thousand people, meanwhile, have responded to the Trust's COVID-19 workforce appeal.

A spokesperson for the Trust said: "The HSC Workforce Campaign was launched on March 27, 2020 - there are currently 588 applications being processed for the Western Trust across a range of staff groups.

"Trust staff who have retired in the last three years have been contacted – 96 have agreed to return across a range of staff groups. Also some Trust staff who were due to retire in the next four months have also expressed an interest in extending their retirement date to support the Trust’s COVID response.

"Students from a range of professions have expressed an interest in coming to work for the Trust."

The Trust said 46 medical students were due to start work in the Trust as Medical Student Technicians on April 6, 2020; 154 student nurses from a range of specialties from Ulster University and Queens University, Belfast were due in the Trust on the same day; and 44 student Social Workers were also scheduled to start work this week.

"Almost 1,000 people have registered in response to the Workforce Appeal, this covers the entire range of disciplines, e.g. Porters; Plumbers; Nurses; Doctors Administrators; Social Workers etc. It is envisaged that these registrants will be able to be processed week commencing April 6, 2020," the spokesperson said.