Dudley's Russells Hall Hospital gets 100 new staff to tackle shortages
Almost 100 new nurses, midwives and other medical workers have been hired at Russells Hall Hospital to tackle staff shortages.
The trust that runs the hospital has hired 35 members of staff in just one month as a result of three recruitment events.
The events, which took place on August 24, September 8 and September 20, saw nurses, operating department practitioner’s and allied health professionals – which can include therapists and radiographers – taken on board.
It comes as 60 nurses and midwives were taken on in addition at the start of August – with 38 nursing graduates, 12 children’s nurses and 10 midwives hired.
Dudley Council chiefs have praised the trust for doing a ‘sound’ job following a disappointing £19,000 trip to the Philippines last year to interview 115 nurses when just three were taken on. Health and Wellbeing councillor Rachel Harris said: “This is great news for the trust and it’s very re-assuring for residents and patients that the trust is now managing to get a grip on bringing staff numbers up to the level that we expect.”
Staffing levels at the hospital had not been at a safe level last year.
This was due to recruitment struggles, sickness and intense A&E pressure. It sparked an desperate search to fill vacancies, including efforts to hire overseas.
But now Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust Interim chief nurse Siobhan Jordan said recruitment was picking up.
She said: “We are delighted at the success of our most recent recruitment events and we will continue to host more in the future.
“We are exploring many different opportunities to attract people to work in Dudley such as job fairs and other events and we are looking to work with the Prince’s Trust. We hope to attract fantastic home-grown talent we know is out there.”
