Foreign nurses could help solve winter crisis

HEALTH bosses are looking to India and the Philippines to recruit nurses to solve the coming winter crisis caused by a shortage of nurses.

South Buckinghamshire NHS Trust Board outlined at a meeting on Monday a series of urgent measures it is taking to try to tackle the problem which rises from a national shortage of nurses, a rising number of emergency admissions locally and the high cost of living in this area.

Keith Broadey, director of human resources, told the meeting: 'We are this week meeting a new agency who are offering us nurses from India. We are looking to recruit in the Philippines.'

Mr Broadey said that three months free accommodation is being offered to nurses moving to the area and that the trust had accommodation of its own to offer to nurses.

The trust is already offering £100 bonus to nurses who can convince a friend, relative or neighbour to join the trust.

It is also advertising in local newspapers, nursing journals and took part in a job fair at Wycombe Town Hall on Monday.

Two other recruitment events are planned for mid to late October.

Mr Broadey said that last year recruitment took place in Toronto and Canada and in 1998 nurses were drafted in from Australia and New Zealand and that this was continuing.

David Griffiths, deputy chief executive of the trust, told an earlier meeting on Monday: 'I think it is something that has been building up for quite a long time, certainly the last two or three months. The difficulty we have had really does now leave us in a crisis.'

He told the meeting that in August ward 5B had to be closed and 12 beds were lost from the surgical ward 1A because there were not enough staff to care for patients.

Roy Baxter, 65, from Windrush Drive, Micklefield, High Wycombe was due to undergo an operation to have kidney stones removed on Wednesday.

Late on Tuesday he was informed that the surgery he had been waiting for for three months had been cancelled.

Mr Baxter, said: 'I feel disgusted. I had to go all the way to Amersham a few weeks ago for a pre-medical test, under my own steam, and I come back and they cancel the operation.'

The disabled pensioner, who feels the delay with this operation will have a knock-on effect suspending a knee operation, said: 'I have never seen the NHS in a worse state. It is a vicious circle and I can't see the end of the tunnel.'

Cheryl Gillan, MP for Chesham and Amersham, said: 'It just shows that our NHS Trust is trying everything they can to try to recruit nurses. Quite frankly it just shows that the Government's promises are worthless. Throwing money at the problem just does not work.'