FORMER nurses are being urged to return to their profession as part of a recruitment campaign to boost employee numbers at the trust which runs hospitals in south Cumbria. 

Qualified nurses who have left their jobs or allowed their registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council to lapse are being targeted by bosses at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust in a bid to recruit more skilled professionals. 

The trust has been given £76,000 from Health Education North West towards the recruitment budget and four nurses have already been interviewed and offered positions in departments including paediatrics and mental health nursing. 

Sue Smith, executive chief nurse at UHMBT, said: “Nurses do their job for one reason – to care for patients. Returning to nursing is a big decision and those that are interested in it are bound to notice a few changes since they left. 

"However, we have worked with the University of Cumbria to put together specific programmes that would support individuals in coming back to the profession. 

"We know there are valuable skills and experience out there and we want to be able to use that to continue to improve the care and experience we offer our patients.

“By updating your skills and knowledge on a return to practice course, you can use your invaluable experience to care for the patients with our established teams working with you to give you the best possible support. 

"At our trust, we want you to feel as cared for and supported as we would expect our patients to feel, and by adopting a ‘care for you as I would want to be cared for’ approach to nursing, this will have a hugely positive impact on both those receiving and delivering care.”