HEALTH bosses in Burnley are to recruit nurses from overseas to boost staffing at local hospitals.
Extra Government cash will be used to bring nurse staffing to new NHS Plan levels required by the Government.
Although Burnley Health Trust says it has no long-term recruitment problems, it has opted to seek nurses from overseas to bring staffing to required levels quickly. A spokesman said it was not yet clear just how much extra money was to be provided by the Government, nor how many trained nurses would be employed.
The spokesman said: "We will be using a NHS agency to find the staff we need to meet the requirements of the national plan.
"We expect they will be employed with us on two-year contracts," he added.
The spokesman said Burnley would be looking for "a small proportion" of highly trained and experienced nurses.
He went on: "Burnley is acknowledged to be at the forefront of recruitment and retention in nursing and we are one of the last trusts in the country to be taking this particular route."
In January, Blackburn hospitals brought in 12 trained nurses from Spain, which unlike Britain has a surplus of nurses to jobs.
It was part of a joint recruiting initiative by Blackburn, Preston, Morecambe and Blackpool trusts which saw more than 80 Spanish nurses signing contracts to work in the North West.
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