More than 100 nurses from the UK and Ireland are expected to bolster the regional NSW health workforce when they arrive in the months ahead.
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An official start date has not yet been set, but Minister for Regional Health, Ryan Park, said the registered nurses (RNs) will be employed in public hospitals stretched across the Hunter New England Health District (HNELHD).
"The NSW Government is committed to attracting and retaining more healthcare workers to regional and rural areas to ensure people living in these communities can receive high-quality, timely care close to home," Mr Park said.
"I would like to welcome these experienced and skilled overseas-based nurses, and thank them for choosing a rewarding career with NSW Health."
Hospitals in Tamworth, Armidale, Inverell, Moree, Manilla, Cessnock, Manning, John Hunter and John Hunter Children's are among the 10 locations where the nurses are expected to be employed, although exact allocation numbers have not yet been released.
The nurses are experienced in areas such as surgical care, intensive care, paediatrics, emergency and medical nursing, according to Tamworth-based HNELHD director of nursing and midwifery Elizabeth Grist (OAM).
"We are currently supporting these nurses through the visa and immigration process, and anticipate their arrival over the coming months," Ms Grist said.
The international recruitment drive was led by HNELHD and is among a few strategies the NSW government is working on to increase the number of health professionals working in regional or rural areas of the state.
Other incentives have included the introduction of tertiary study subsidies of up to $12,000 over three years for new and existing health students if they choose to work for the public health system upon graduation.
And within the first six months to January 18, this year, 315 health workers were recruited and a further 1,932 health workers were retained in some of the hardest to fill positions in remote, rural and regional areas of NSW, after the Rural Health Workforce Incentive Scheme was doubled to $20,000.
Minister for the Hunter, Yasmin Catley, welcomed the increase in international healthcare staff, saying they "will deliver better health outcomes for patients and their families in the Hunter and New England regions".
"Recruitment and retention of healthcare staff in rural and regional locations is an ongoing challenge faced nationally, and the NSW Government remains committed to addressing this issue," Ms Catley said.
Earlier modelling sourced from figures under Freedom of Information (FoI) laws, showed that if trends continued from 2018 statistics, there would be a shortfall of about 8,000 nursing staff and midwives across the state by 2030.
