Ex-nurses retrained in recruitment crisis

FORMER nurses are being retrained to boost numbers at hospitals facing a major recruitment crisis.

Hospitals in Scotland are facing a growing staff shortage problem, with many struggling to fill vacancies for doctors and nurses.

And the situation is set to get worse with an ageing workforce.

Now a health board has launched a 15-week training programme to retrain nurses, which is the first in Scotland to guarantee a job for successful students.

Eighteen former nurses have undertaken the course at Robert Gordon University since it launched in the summer. They will have completed their clinical placements by the end of the year. A second intake will start the course in January.

Sheila Irvine, a professional development educator with NHS Grampian, said: ‘People decide to leave nursing for a variety of reasons – a career break, a change in personal circumstances or something else.

‘In years gone by both their skills and experience would have been lost to the profession forever.

‘That is why we are so pleased with the levels of enthusiasm and interest in the programme we’ve seen since it began earlier in the year. It is really good news for staff and patients alike.’

The programme is available full or part-time. Normally a lapse of registration of up to 12 years requires 300 practice hours over an eight-week period. Those nurses out of practice for more than 12 years will need 50 hours.

Fees are fully funded and students are paid for work placements and guaranteed a band five post on completion of the course.

Elaine Lee, , is now lead heart failure nurse with NHS Grampian after returning to nursing, having left the profession in 2001. Miss Lee, of Aberdeen, said: ‘Returning to practice is one of the most rewarding things I’ve done, so I’m pleased that there is now a programme that will make it easier for people to come back to nursing.

‘It’s easy to forget just how much of a difference you can make for patients and the job satisfaction you get from knowing you are doing something really worthwhile in life.’