Swansea Bay University Health Board is recruiting more than 550 nurses this financial year, its chief executive said. Mark Hackett said there was often "doom and gloom" in the media about the recruitment of NHS staff.
He said 350 of the 550-plus nurse recruits heading to Swansea Bay in 2022-23 would be from overseas. But Mr Hackett told a board meeting that current nurses were leaving their profession at a higher rate.
"We need to reshape the working environment which is resulting in them wanting to leave our service," he said. Some of this environment, he said, such as pay and pensions, were outside the health board's control. Mr Hackett added that only eight applications had been submitted for 47 mental health nursing posts in March this year.
