East Cheshire NHS Trust has taken on dozens of new nurses and healthcare assistants to support the delivery of quality care, including 36 qualified nurses from Spain.
The nurses, who have swapped sunshine for the rolling hills of Macclesfield, have been brought in as part of a recruitment drive for hands-on frontline staff, aimed at supporting the trust’s objective to continuously improve quality, safety and the patient experience.
The qualified Spanish nurses, who are all working at Macclesfield District General Hospital, have been through a comprehensive training programme at the hospital’s new, state-of-the-art, Clinical and Professional Development Centre and are now working with patients in wards across the site.
Marian Fernandez, aged 35, is originally from Valencia and has been living in Macclesfield for three months. She said: “I have worked as a nurse for 14 years – I live for my job, but I wanted a complete change and a new challenge.
“I have the skills and experience to make a difference and I like the challenge of working in a hospital setting so I decided to apply for a position in Macclesfield and was lucky enough to be offered a job.
“I enjoy it because there’s real flexibility and you can specialise in the areas where you can add the most value. It’s a friendly town in a nice part of the world and everyone at the hospital has made me feel welcome – I just hope the weather picks up soon.”
The Trust has also invested in more than 30 new healthcare assistants to ensure it is delivering the best possible care to patients.
Kath Senior, director of nursing at East Cheshire NHS Trust, said: “The trust took a decision to invest in more nursing staff and healthcare assistants so we could continue to improve the quality of frontline care and ensure our own high standards are being met or exceeded.”
“We’re delighted so many nurses have come to us from Spain – the Spanish healthcare service shares many similarities with our own, health professionals all go through rigorous training, are passionate about providing high quality care and they are used to working with complex medical technology.
“Not only does this help to improve the delivery of quality care, it also helps to enrich the cultural life of the hospital and enables the exchange of best practice between the Spanish and British clinical staff.”
