The issues surrounding the shortage of nurses in Northern Ireland point to fundamental problems in the health service, in particular a failure of strategic direction and organisational planning.
There are a number of key factors contributing to what is a serious state of affairs in the north's healthcare system, including a cut to training places at Queen's University and Ulster University by successive UUP and DUP ministers.
That short-sighted approach was addressed more recently by Simon Hamilton and Michelle O'Neill who increased funding but it will take time for the system to catch up.
It is estimated that we are currently around 1,500 nurses short of what is required, which is a significant shortfall.
Clearly, money is very tight but filling posts with agency staff is not entirely cost effective.
It was revealed last week that it can cost the northern trust up to £100,000 a year to employ an agency nurse, which could pay for around four full-time staff posts.
The spiralling cost of agency workers is a major issue for the health service and causes difficulties in terms of continuity of care.
The health authorities are now looking overseas to find qualified staff to fill jobs in our hospitals, but that is not the full solution to our problems.
Yesterday the Irish News revealed that more than £500,000 has been spent on a recruitment campaign which involved sending health trust staff to Italy, Greece, Romania, India and the Philippines.
However, of 66 nurses who have arrived in Northern Ireland, only 12 have obtained full registration and are working in nursing roles.
Admittedly, the process of completing exams and satisfying the requirements of the Nursing and Midwifery Council can be a lengthy process but with trusts facing severe cutbacks, questions will be raised about the cost of this campaign and the relatively low numbers recruited.
Ultimately, we need to plan for the longer term to ensure we have sufficient numbers of nurses being trained and retained in our health service.
