Overseas nurses welcomed at Forth Valley Royal Hospital

They have been recruited, in partnership with NHS professionals, as part of a Scottish Government initiative to increase international nurse recruitment and support the delivery of health services across Scotland.

They will be joined by a further seven nurses from India and Zimbabwe, who are due to arrive in Forth Valley next month.

Louise Boyle, interim chief nurse at the Larbert hospital who welcomed the nurses on their first day at NHS Forth Valley, said: “We have had considerable success in recent years in attracting newly qualified nursing staff to join us, however, it’s also important to look beyond the established recruitment routes to help us enhance our nursing workforce.

"We are delighted to welcome these new nurses to NHS Forth Valley and I, along with senior nursing colleagues across the hospital, will be doing everything we can to make them feel at home over the coming weeks and months.”

The nurses, who have experience in a number of areas including intensive care and surgical wards, will undergo a full induction programme.

They will also receive ongoing support to help them settle well into their new jobs and lives in Scotland where they have been offered permanent nursing posts.

Rahana Babu, who will be working in one of the surgical wards at FVRH, said: “Despite having family in England I was really keen to come to Scotland to work as the people are really friendly and I felt I would have greater opportunities to learn and develop my nursing career.”

While Huldha Pandian said she had heard a lot about the local hospital before she joined the programme, including its famous robots: “I thought Forth Valley would be a really nice place to live and work and I’m looking forward to gaining experience working in different wards and finding out more about the hospital and the use of technology to improve patient care.”

Maries Pakrath, who has experience of working in intensive care, added: “I am looking forward to working in the intensive care unit.

"It’s good to be here with other nursing colleagues from India and I also have a brother who is studying to be a nurse in Glasgow.

"However, we all feel very supported by everyone we have met since we arrived in Forth Valley.”

The international recruitment programme, which aims to recruit around 200 nurses across Scotland, has been carried out ethically in line with the Scottish Code of Practice for the International Recruitment of Health and Social Care Personnel ensuring NHS Scotland does not recruit from countries with their own qualified healthcare staffing shortages.