Hospital celebrates diverse workforce on International Nurses Day

On International Nurses Day (Wednesday), Tameside Hospital is celebrating the growing cohort of nurses coming from overseas.

International Nurses Day falls within the same week as Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Week - a national campaign highlighting work to create a fairer and more inclusive NHS for patients and staff.

Over the last six months, Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust - which runs the Ashton-based hospital - say it has recruited 35 international nurses, with a further 30 expected later this year.

One member of the first cohort to arrive in October 2020 was Sindhu Don, who has thrived in the organisation and has already gained a promotion.

Sindhu, who is from India, worked as a trainer in nursing college before making the move to Tameside, which helped her to gain her new role as a Practice Education Practitioner.

Sindhu’s new role will mean that she will be meeting and supporting future cohorts of international nurses into the Trust.

“I have just been through it,” Sindhu explains. “My experience will definitely help, I was successful in getting my registration and am looking forward to coaching others through theirs.

“Working in the UK has been a childhood dream of mine and I have made a number of changes to make my dream happen. We have had such a warm welcome here, it has been an amazing experience so far.”

Sindhu Don

Director of HR, Amanda Bromley explained: “We are very proud of our international nurses and the value that they bring to Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS FT.

"It is fitting that we celebrate International Nurses Day during the week of Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Week. We believe that the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion agenda is critical to developing a workforce that is truly reflective of the diverse communities we serve in Tameside and Glossop.

"We also believe that in building a diverse workforce, we will increase the talent pool from which we recruit and build services that are responsive to the needs of the local community.”

International Nurses Day takes place every year on 12 May. This year, Tameside Hospital is celebrating by flying a specially designed flag to acknowledge the day, as well as celebrating the diversity of its nursing workforce in a series of social media posts through the day and following week.

Executive Director of Nursing, Pete Weller, said: "We celebrate the amazing contribution that our nurses and clinical support staff make every year but this year feels particularly poignant after the last 12 months.

"I would like to thank all of the nurses, support workers and volunteers at the Trust who have come together and shown incredible resilience during the last year.”