Home Office blocks Shropshire move to hire nurses from overseas

The 68 nurses from the Philippines recruited to fill vacant posts at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Telford's Princess Royal Hospital will not be allowed into the country until certificates of sponsorship – something Filipino nurses need before coming to work in the UK – are approved.

Talks are continuing between representatives of Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust and the Home Office with a view to a fresh bid being made in mid-August.

The nurses were recruited following a visit by trust officials to the Philippines in March. But it emerged last month that the trust had run into difficulties with the Home Office which were preventing the nurses from taking up their posts.

At a trust board meeting held at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital yesterday, workforce director Victoria Maher said: "We had 68 offers made and accepted by Philippine nurses.

"However the Home Office rejected their certificates of sponsorship. We then tried to submit 21 – and these were again rejected.

"We are working very closely with the Home Office to make it work and re-submitting for August. Sadly nursing is not on the shortage occupation list which makes it difficult for nurses to secure enough 'points'. It has been incredibly difficult and challenging."

"If we are successful it will take two to three months before they are here.

"When they do arrive we have an extensive programme to integrate the nurses.

"We have accommodation lined up and we are working with a local company to give language and cultural support.

"It is all in place for when they get here."

Peter Herring, chief executive of the trust, said the issue had been raised on a national level.

He said: "We have raised this as a significant risk. Our ability to provide safe staffing levels should not rely on agency staff.

"Nurse recruitment campaigns continue locally and in Europe, although they do not deliver the growth needed to reach safer staffing levels, they are maintaining current establishment levels with small growth.

"To date we have not secured the certificates of sponsorship for nurses recruited from the Philippines, we are working with the Home Office to address this.

"Nurses from the Philippines represent the biggest growth element of the recruitment plan – therefore work is under way to develop contingency plans."

It was also revealed at the trust board meeting that staff agency spending in June remained high, amounting to £1.195 million.

Neil Nisbet, the trust's finance director, told the meeting that the trust is currently £400,000 away "from where we should be".

He said: "The trust's budgets assume the delivery of a deficit at month three amounting to £7.352 million. The actual deficit recorded amounted to £7.75 million."

"Consistently pay spending across the trust is heavily influenced by the level of temporary staff.

"If we are not able to rectify overseas recruitment issues then we will expect to continue to incur premium agency costs."

In conclusion, Peter Latchford, chairman, said: "We hope this unlocks soon.

"The tension between the limits on immigration and the need for medical staff needs to be addressed.

"There is not one single answer."