NURSES recruited internationally for the area's hospital are to be granted a cash advance to fund the prohibitive cost of English language tests and plane fares.

More than 100 qualified nurses from outside Europe have been offered jobs by those in charge of Barrow's Furness General Hospital in the past six months in a bid to ensure wards are staffed to safe levels.

But the price tag attached to travel, visas, completing mandatory English language tests and UK nursing registration is delaying successful candidates from being able to begin work.

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Now bosses at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust are to pay each one up to £4,000 to help cover their costs to ensure they can begin caring for patients across south Cumbria as soon as possible.

The innovative move - which could cost the trust up to £432,000 - was described as a "no brainer" by the hospital's finance chief and deputy chief executive Aaron Cummins.

He said: "This will smooth the bringing in of new recruits so for us, it's a no brainer."

A team of staff from UHMBT flew to Kerala, in India, in October to interview and select qualified nurses in a bid to boost staff numbers at FGH, in Dalton Lane, as well as at Kendal's Westmorland General Hospital and the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

They will begin work as healthcare assistants initially while their qualifications are verified by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Once they are approved and registered by the NMC, they will start work as ward and theatre nurses across all three sites.

The money must be paid back on a reduced scale by any who decide to leave the trust within the next two years.

David Wilkinson, UHMBT director of workforce and organisational development, explained the international recruitment drives had been undertaken because of a national shortage of qualified nurses.

Mr Wilkinson said: "We have recruited 110 nurses that are now at differing stages of the pre-employment checks and clearance processes.

"However, there are significant delays to them being able to take up employment due to the high financial commitment for each candidate to undertake the necessary Nursing and Midwifery Council registration, International English Language Test, visa and flight costs before they can start providing nursing care to our patients.

“The trust would benefit from these new recruits starting as soon as possible - not only to ensure we have the right people on our wards to care for patients and reduce vacancy levels, but to take into account the new additional employer’s cost that will apply from April 2017."

He added: "Our standard relocation expenses package provides every new recruit relocating more than 60 miles to claim up to 20 per cent of their starting salary, which is approximately £4,000 for a registered nurse.

"To help speed up the process, we have agreed that the trust will fund upfront some of the relocation costs for our international recruits, to support flights and the health surcharge associated with the visa process.

"Should the candidate choose to leave the trust within two years they will be required to pay back the costs on a sliding scale, meaning they will pay less back the longer they stay."

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