After receiving a poor local response, the United Lincolnshire Hospital Trust (ULHT) has been urged to recruit an increasing number of their nurses from overseas.  This has stemmed from a recent review carried out by NHS England’s medical director, Bruce Keogh, who put the ULHT under a special measures programme following inadequate findings.

The trust had been criticised for numerous reasons, including poor staffing levels, a poor patient experience and too many changes in leadership.  The board believes that in order to combat these issues they have had to look further afield for new staff: hence the increased recruitment from overseas.

Widening recruitment boundaries to Spain and Ireland

The trust’s chief executive, Jade Lewington, said that they required the recruitment of around 125 new nurses.  She informed media that the recruitment process had only received 115 applications, which resulted in them widening their recruitment boundaries to Spain and Ireland.

She said: “We have already started recruitment and one of the very practical things we have done is tell every student nurse in the area there will be jobs available for them at Lincolnshire hospitals.”

The ULHT, which runs hospitals in Boston, Grantham and Lincoln, has also removed around 30 beds in Grantham and Boston, in an attempt to reduce the pressure on ward staff and other wards.

Alongside these changes, the trust also revealed plans to move directors from headquarters to Lincoln City Hospital to provide better management guidance.  Within this action plan, the trust is also in the midst of hiring directors for HR and finance, which will work alongside a new medical director to better the trust’s public service.

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