NHS Tayside has said it plans to work alongside a northern neighbour on innovative solutions to staff shortages which could include an injection of Australian nurses.
Grampian Health Board sent a delegation to the country in an effort to shore up its nursing register last year.
Almost 50 nurses are set to start across Grampian – and Scottish Conservative MSP Bill Bowman believes Tayside could follow suit.
Hundreds more are in line to make the 10,000-mile trip from Australia to take up roles in Grampian, following a recruitment drive that took health chiefs to job fairs in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney.
North East region MSP Mr Bowman said: “Apparently Western Australia has so many nurses that they can’t all get clinical experience.
“It’s no longer the case that people make a one-way trip to Australia and remain there.
“A generation of medical staff are looking for work and a place to employ their skills.
“This may not be a permanent move but I’d like to think there’s a place in NHS Tayside for enthusiastic nurses who may value experience, instead of incredibly expensive agency staff.
“If there is a pool of talent that can be tapped into, Tayside needs to act quickly.
“Much of the work will already have been done.”
Attending job fairs cost the struggling board well over £20,000 but the response has left it optimistic it will prove value for money.
As well as 49 nurses and midwives, three of whom will go to other health boards, there are another 114 at various stages of training, which they need to complete before they can be registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
The delegation was made up of Caroline Hiscox, deputy director for nursing and midwifery, Elizabeth Wilson, senior nurse for workforce planning and development, Susan Coull, head of human resources and Jenny Gibb, associate nurse director.
An NHS Tayside spokesperson said, “NHS Tayside has already commenced discussions with the other boards in the north region, including NHS Grampian, to progress our approach together to international nursing recruitment, so that we continue to attract the best talent to our services.
“Additionally, NHS Tayside actively participates as an NHS Board in Scottish Government-led international recruitment initiatives.”
