UK hunts for Polish nurses

The British National Health Service is looking to take on 2,500 new Polish nurses it was reported this week, in an attempt to help cut down on translation costs.

According to TVN, hospitals in the UK are currently hoping to recruit medical personnel from a number of Eastern European countries – with Poland being one of the main nations – due to the ever-growing number of foreign patients and translation bills.

The station states that, at present, Britain is forking out GBP 23 mln per year on translation fees – a figure it is drastically looking to slash.

One association interested is the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT) which operates three hospitals in the Lincolnshire County and provides medical services for a number of other institutions in the region. However, according to one representative, nothing has yet been signed. “We are keen on such a programme but so far there are no concrete plans for recruiting in Poland,” they said. Such statements were also echoed in Kings Lynn, Norfolk.

The station claims that data it gathered via the UK’s Mail on Sunday newspaper shows in 2020, translation costs were costing the country GBP 45,000 per day. This has continued to rise – to GBP 57,000 in 2012 – and is now an estimated GBP 63,000.

http://www.newpolandexpress.pl/polish_news_story-7014-uk_hunts_for_polish_nurses.php