MONDAY, 18 DECEMBER, 2023

Photograph attached: l-r Stella Digba, Joanne Reekie, Minusha Surajkumar and Gladys Odion outside Buckingham Palace

NHS Tayside nurses recognised at King’s reception at Buckingham Palace

Two nurses who came to NHS Tayside as part of an international recruitment programme joined colleagues from across the UK at a reception hosted by King Charles III.

Gladys Odion and Minusha Surajkumar represented NHS Tayside at the event, which was held at Buckingham Palace in November. Gladys joined NHS Tayside in February this year and works in medicine for the elderly (ward 6) at Ninewells Hospital. Minusha started in April and is in general medicine in ward 6 at Perth Royal Infirmary.

Around 400 nurses and midwives from across the four nations of the UK attended the reception, which recognised and celebrated the contribution of internationally-educated nurses and midwives to health and social care. They were treated to a performance from the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS choir, and the King met and chatted with a selection of nurses throughout the event.

Gladys and Minusha were joined by colleagues Stella Digba, a senior charge nurse in ward 26 at Ninewells, and Joanna Reekie, a senior nurse in professional and practice development, who provide support to nurses joining NHS Tayside through the overseas recruitment programme.

Joanna said, “Our colleagues are our greatest strength in the NHS and together they bring so much talent, skill and kindness to the workplace. It was inspiring to be at such an event to recognise this.”

NHS Tayside’s bespoke induction programme provides a package of support to recruits which includes short-term accommodation, orientation, an education programme, assistance with their professional registration and pastoral care to allow them to settle into their new role, work environment and also into life in Scotland.

Cohorts are welcomed every 10 weeks with candidates with specialist skills matched to vacancies across NHS Tayside. The programme is delivered with support from a number of NHS Tayside teams including HR recruitment, professional and practice development, volunteer services, spiritual care, resuscitation officers and clinical teams, as well as previous recruits.

Joanna added, “We’d like to say thank you to all the individuals and teams who enable us to deliver such a high-quality welcome to our colleagues arriving from the international community into NHS Tayside. This is an example of how we aim to achieve the ambitions of our Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals (NMAHP) Strategy to recruit and retain colleagues and enable them to realise their potential within the organisation.”

Contact:

Louise Wilson

NHS Tayside Communications

(01382) 740718