Published on: 22 October 2019

Another overseas recruitment drive by South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust has resulted in a boost for its nursing workforce.

The Trust was able to make 140 job offers during its latest trip to the Philippines. The new recruits will join the Trust over the coming months and will work in a wide range of medical and surgical departments at South Tyneside District Hospital, Sunderland Royal Hospital and Sunderland Eye Infirmary, and in the community in South Tyneside, Sunderland and Gateshead.

This was the seventh overseas recruitment campaign in the Philippines and the most successful to date due to the number and standard of the applicants, many of whom are already well advanced with the documentation required for working in the UK. The Trust already employs over 200 nurses from there, many of whom now live as well as work in South Tyneside and Sunderland.

Melanie Johnson, Executive Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals for South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We can promise these latest recruits a very warm welcome. We only recruit the very best and they will be a valuable addition to our nursing workforce. They will be joining our dedicated teams in delivering compassionate patient care of the highest quality. Our Trust is committed to more investment in nursing and we are constantly seeking new staff of the highest calibre - locally, nationally and overseas - by offering exciting opportunities to develop varied nursing careers with us.”

Among its many recruitment initiatives, the Trust was instrumental in helping the University of Sunderland to establish its new nursing school, with the aim of encouraging local people to join the profession. The first programme began in April 2016 and the first students graduated earlier this year, having completed the three-year, BSc pre-registration adult nursing programme. Many of them are now working with the Trust.

For the Trust’s current nursing vacancies go to: https://www.stsft.nhs.uk/join-our-team/current-vacancies/external-nursing-vacancies.