66 nurses from Botswana to join mental health trust in the East
Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust hoped it will help solve a recruitment crisis
More than 60 nurses from Botswana have been offered roles at a mental health trust that serves parts of Bedfordshire.
Hundreds of nurses were interviewed by the Recruitment team at Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust in Botswana over an eight-day period.
Marcus Riddle, who is the Senior Director for Organisational Development for EPUT said: “The interview process was not too dissimilar to what we might go through for an interview in the UK except it was really important for us to test the clinical competence of the nurses.
“They are all qualified nurses, so we were trying to see if their competency is something that we could bring to the UK.”
66 Nurses were chosen for the next steps of recruitment.
Marcus Riddle added: “After they're made a formal offering, we need to ensure they get the right training to come to the UK and have the right qualifications.
“We line up accommodation, we line up the training venues and of course, we have to think about where they may be allocated in terms of wards when they get here as well.”
Some of the nurses selected to come to the UK have been trained in both mental and physical health.
Marcus believes that the new recruitments will not only help staff shortages within the NHS but that they will be bringing “something new and different” to the trust.
Professor Natalie Hammond, Executive Nurse, said: “The last two years of the pandemic have been extremely challenging.
“A robust nursing workforce helps us provide safe care, meet the needs of our communities, and is key to achieving our vision be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care.
“The nurses joining us from Botswana will reduce the number of nursing vacancies at our Trust, resulting in better patient experience, and more support for our current staff.
The nurses selected to join the trust this autumn will be met at the airport and transported to accommodation that EPUT have lined up for them.
Marcus added: “We will also be taking care of GP registration, bank accounts, the post office, just all of the things that would be natural to us but of course would not be to nurses coming from overseas.”
EPUT will also have staff experienced managers to offer any additional support to the nurses.
Before joining the Trust’s wards, the nurses must undertake a practical exam which looks at clinical and communication skills, which the Trust will support them to prepare for.
The Trust’s international recruitment is aligned with the World Health Organization’s Code of Practice, which sets out how recruitment can take place ethically from overseas.