Stepping Hill Hospital is to recruit more than 100 overseas nurses to help it care for patients throughout the winter months.
Stockport NHS Foundation Trust took on 25 nurses from abroad at the end of last year, and has made a commitment to bring in a further 110 in early 2022.
The majority of new recruits come from India, while others hail from countries such as Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
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They will be helping to look after people as the hospital looks to cope with the increasing numbers of Covid-19 patients and staff vacancies, as well as the usual pressures the NHS faces over the winter.
It follows an influx of international nurses over the last two years, which has seen the hospital welcome 141 new colleagues , including from Hong Kong, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Nepal.
NHS Professionals - which supplies temporary staff to the NHS - has helped the trust by arranging advertising, interviews, visas and flights.
Nic Firth, chief nurse at the trust, said: “International nurses have always been a vital part of our workforce, and recent recruits from India and elsewhere in the past two years have helped us continue to provide the best possible standards of care we can through challenging times.
“We are delighted to welcome these nurses on board as they become part of the Stockport family.”
The nurses will be permanent members of the workforce, rather than bank or agency staff, and care for patients in areas such as surgery, medicine and urgent care.
Bosses say this ensures better continuity of patient care and is also better value for the NHS.
Before the nurses arrive in the UK they will have passed an IELTS (International English Language Testing System) examination to show their efficiency in English.
They also attend a comprehensive training course in preparation for their OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) to ensure high standards of clinical skills.
Once they begin work, they receive expert tuition from the trust’s learning and development department - as well as the wider support of their new colleagues - to ensure they are prepared for their new role in the NHS.
Bosses say Stepping Hill is a popular choice for nurses as it is located in a residential area with excellent schools and good transport links connecting it to Manchester and the Peak District.
