A Welsh health board's first recruitment event in India resulted in the hiring of 107 new nurses.
The Kochi, Kochi, event was organized by Swansea Bay University Health Board to address a Band Five nurse shortage at its Morriston Hospital.
The new hires are a mix of theatre, medical, and surgical nurses, some of whom have 15 years of experience.
After a four-week training period, they begin their new positions in April after arriving in February.
The UK is experiencing a shortage of Band Five nurses, who are essentially newly qualified, according to Swansea Bay University Health Board. This is because many people are retiring or leaving their jobs to pursue new careers.
Up to three months of housing will be provided by the health board for the nurses until they are able to secure their own rentals from local landlords.
An interviewing team led by Lynne Jones, head of nursing education and recruitment, spoke with 119 nurses over the course of four days.
"We decided to hold a face-to-face event as part of the overseas nursing recruitment campaign, something we were unable to do during the height of the pandemic," she said.
"We found qualified candidates with a range of experience from one to 15 years' experience thanks to the trip, which gave us a chance to learn a little more about the candidates and gain a more intimate perspective. ".
Currently, the board hires 32 foreign nurses every five weeks on average.
The shortage of Band Five nurses is decreasing, so we are progressing, according to Ms. Jones. The UK is experiencing this problem.
"Our student nurses and routine hiring of foreign nurses are our sources for Band Five nurses. ".
After holding comparable hiring events in the Philippines in recent years, the health board announced it will think about making a return trip to India in the coming months.
It claimed that the choice to hire from India was made because of the nation's abundance of skilled nurses.
"We need foreign nurses here, and for them it's a chance to advance their careers and experience a different way of life," Ms. Jones said.
"Trained nurses are in high demand in nations like India. We can ethically hire people from these nations because they have plenty of qualified nurses.
The nurses we speak with frequently only have one-year contracts in their home countries, so they are looking for longer-term commitments, which we can provide. ".
The health board does not hire from certain nations that are "on the red list," Ms. Jones continued, because they lack nurses there.
