British hospitals recruit Greek doctors

The latest initiative follows an international recruitment programme last year, when the trust recruited 22 nurses from Spain and Italy.

Deputy chief nurse, Joann Morse, said these countries were selected because in their troubled economies nurses are seeking jobs. She said: “We can and do recruit locally and nationally but there is a shortage of nurses so we need to remain proactive in our approach...We have also had a recommendation from another trust that has recently recruited some 15 nurses of a very high professional standard in Cyprus.”

At home, 19 registered nurses have accepted jobs on the back of open days at Furness General Hospital in Barrow and Royal Lancaster Infirmary in the summer, and there have been 48 new starters in the past three months.

The trust said the international candidates were pre-screened by an agency to ensure they are suitable for interview.  They will undergo a formal interview as well as a test to demonstrate they understand medication dosage calculations and they will give a written response to a clinical scenario.