140 nurses from The Philippines recruited for South Tyneside and Sunderland

The new recruits will work for South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust 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 fifth overseas recruitment campaign in The Philippines. The Trust already has more than 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: “The standard of the applicants was, as always, very high and we are very much looking forward to welcoming the new recruits over the coming months.

“Our aim is always to recruit the very best and ensure we have the right person with the right skills in the right place at the right time. Our overseas recruitment drives are essential to this process, along with our regular, local recruitment events where we draw on the rich seam of nursing talent in the North East.”

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 commenced in April 2016 and the first students graduated this year.