MORE than 250 nurses from the Philippines are set to start work in nursing homes across Northern Ireland in the coming months as part of an attempt to plug a staff shortage.
Restrictions were placed on the recruitment of nurses to the UK from abroad almost a decade ago, but were eased amidst growing vacancies last year.
Rutledge Recruitment recently held assessments and interviews in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, over the course of a week to select the nursing home staff.
They are to undergo exams and English language testing, and must receive visa clearance from the Home Office before moving.
They will also face further assessment of their nursing skills in an exam after their arrival in Northern Ireland.
The new staff will be placed in nursing homes, while health trusts continue a separate recruitment drive in the Philippines for hospital nurses.
Karen Moffett, a nurse who works for Rutledge as an international healthcare recruitment manager, said there had been successful link-ups in the past with the Philippines.
"The government had closed the doors on recruitment a number of years ago, but there is a shortage of nurses right across the UK," she said.
"These will be exclusively for nursing homes. More than 250 have been interviewed and have been successful, and we are in contact with independent nursing homes in Northern Ireland to arrange a placement."
She added: "There are strict regulations to comply with and they have to do a series of assessments and exams. They have to have a job offer before they can apply for a visa."
Mrs Moffett gave a presentation in Manila to the candidates offering a glimpse of life in Northern Ireland, with the Game of Thrones link attracting much attention.
She said nurses will be given as much support as possible to settle in and in some cases will be placed close to family members or friends already here.
"They can't bring family members over initially, and they have to be here for a period of time before that can happen. If they have family members or friends here we will try and place them in a nearby location," she said.
"There has been that historical link with the UK, they feel their families have made tremendous sacrifices to put them through university and they want to build a new life for themselves.
"We would like to have them here within six months."
In August, the Department of Health said job offers had been made to more than 500 nurses from overseas, almost all from the Philippines, to take up employment across Northern Ireland's five health trusts.
Earlier this year it emerged that there were 850 vacancies for nurses across four of the five health trusts.
