Recruiting drive among overseas nurses to bolster struggling NHS

hundreds of healthcare support workers and overseas nurses are being recruited to bolster the under-pressure scottish nhs.

More than 1,000 staff will be taken on for a variety of support roles in acute hospitals and community health teams.

A £15million recruitment drive was launched by health secretary humza Yousaf last October amid ‘unprecedented’ challenges during the pandemic.

under a separate £4.5million initiative, 191 nurses from countries including India and the Philippines have been offered employment, with some already working in hospitals and healthcare settings. Agreements are in place with recruitment agencies to hire a further 203 nurses.

Mr Yousaf said: ‘I am delighted with the success of the recruitment campaigns and seeing the new staff already providing frontline patient care.’

scottish Labour health spokesman Jackie Baillie said: ‘I wish these new health professionals well as they settle in to their new homes. But the snP cannot continue to paper over their own failure to properly train and recruit staff in scotland by raiding the healthcare systems of other nations.’