Chronic staff shortages in British hospitals has 
meant that NHS officials are looking to recruit 
nurses from China. 

An NHS delegation from London and Birmingham has 
travelled to Beijing to assess the potential of 
employing nurses with specialist skills. 

Nurses from countries such as the Philippines 
and Singapore are already working in Britain on 
one to two year contracts, but now the NHS needs 
to fill around 7,500 long term positions. 

The Chinese Government is in favour of recruitment 
and many Chinese nurses are keen to develop their 
skills in Britain. 

English language skills would seem to be the major 
hurdle for recruitment, as well as different 
healthcare practices. 

But NHS officials have stressed that only those 
nurses with specialist knowledge and up to date 
qualifications will be considered. 


Pitfalls 


Head of NHS Recruitment, David Amos, recognises 
the pitfalls of recruiting in countries such as 
China but believes the basic recruitment process 
should be the same. 

"You should treat international recruitment as 
you would any general recruitment. 

"It's about identifying potential candidates 
with the right skills and experience and certainly 
if it's about people abroad, those with communication 
skills and abilities," he said. 

In April, two hospitals in Leeds offered 100 short 
term contracts to nurses from Manila and Singapore, 
where English is widely spoken. 

The nurses, due to arrive in July, will help fill 
shortages in the fields of kidney care, heart treatment 
and elderly medicine. 

Differences in healthcare systems will also have to 
be addressed. 

The NHS delegates touring Beijing Hospital have been 
treated to some less familiar medical practices. 

Officials were shown how ancient Chinese medicine 
uses turtle shell to improve kidney function and how 
scorpions are believed to be beneficial for tumours.