BSW ICB continues overseas boost to mental health nursing workforce

BSW ICB’s ongoing work to help recruit mental health nurses from overseas for jobs in BaNES, Swindon, Wiltshire and farther afield is continuing to go from strength to strength following the appointment of a new education partner in India in 2023.

The ICB has been working with English language testing company EBEK for the past 12 months who, through their Project Power initiative, help international student nurses and working nurses to achieve international job opportunities.

Through this partnership BSW ICB is able to offer guidance and support on CV building, interview training, visa and immigration support, as well as an ethical and transparent recruitment process. All nurses have a fully funded education package which includes accommodation, food and a monthly living support payment.

Working with EBEK has enabled BSW ICB to continue to recruit international nurses from basses in India including  Cochin, Pune, Tamil Nadu, Lucknow and Delhi. In the future, the program will also be delivered in Colombo, Sri Lanka and the Philippines

So far, the international recruitment programme has enabled BSW ICB to recruit 53 mental health nurses for Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust in 2024 and 48 mental health nurses for Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust in 2024

Penny Smee, Director of Resourcing and Retention at BSW ICB said:

“Our work in India and plans for the future to expand our recruitment work to the Philippines and Sri Lanka are enabling health and care providers in BSW and further afield to boost the number of much-needed mental health nurses in a caring, ethical and sustainable way. “