Shropshire hospital bosses ‘delighted’ to welcome new nurses

The 42 nurses will work at both Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.

Previously hospital bosses said they spent £16.373 million on agency staff in 2015/16, a figure which is ‘too high’.

Theresa May was earlier last month accused of overseeing “an unprecedented workforce crisis in the NHS“ after it emerged staff vacancies have risen by more than 10 per cent in the last year, with tens of thousands of posts left unfilled.

Health bosses say the new staff, revealed by the Shropshire Star yesterday, will reduce the reliance on agency nurses and temporary staff.

Deirdre Fowler, director of nursing, midwifery and quality, said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome our new nurses to SaTH.

"Their recruitment strengthens our nursing team and means we can continue our efforts to cut back on our use of temporary and agency staff. It is also advantageous to our patients in terms of continuity of care.

“Nursing is such a special and rewarding job, and our nurses put their all into their care of our patients – and we want them to know that we value that. They are our workforce of the future, and we want them to feel part of our family, and that they belong to something.

“The care of our patients is at the heart of everything we do, and these latest recruitment are part of our ongoing commitment to find caring and compassionate people who want to be part of our journey to provide the safest and kindest care possible.”

After placements in Shrewsbury and Telford, former student nurse Amanda Checketts will join SaTH as a staff nurse this week.

She said: “I am delighted to be joining the nursing team at SaTH. Nursing is something that I always wanted to do.

“I did a number of placements at the RSH and the PRH, and when you would walk down any corridor everyone would smile, pass the time of day and make the effort. It’s that atmosphere that I wanted to be part of.”

Sath is also inviting all adult nurses who are newly qualified, qualified, bank staff and those due to qualify in March and September 2018, to a special recruitment event on Thursday (sep14) at 6pm in the Education Centre at PRH.

Anyone interested in attending is asked to submit an online application or contact Hannah Yates on 01743 261000 ext 1732, or email Hannah.Yates@sath.nhs.uk