I have been informed by the Eastern Regional Health Authority that the cost of the accommodation provided by the East Coast Area Health Board for the 54 Filipino nurses is £120.00 per week per nurse. No payment has been made to date. There was no discrimination by management of the accommodation in serving breakfast to the Filipino nurses. Meals were supplied at times both early and late to accommodate nurses on different shift rosters. The accommodation at another property was only arranged as an interim measure for the St. Patrick's weekend. The original guesthouse was again available from Tuesday, 20 March, immediately following the bank holiday weekend. The accommodation was accepted by the liaison officer as an emergency interim measure. According to the East Coast Area Health Board, the nurses were reluctant to return to the original accommodation as the accommodation sourced at their final work placement was almost ready.
The East Coast Area Health Board feels that it was unfortunate that the nurses were in such accommodation even on an interim basis. Unfortunately the liaison officer had become ill in the meantime and this contributed to an undue delay in moving the nurses to more appropriate accommodation. The three area health boards moved immediately, when they became aware of the problem, to rectify matters and apologised to the nurses concerned. In recognition of the fact that the sourcing of nurses and other health and social services personnel from abroad will be a necessary feature of the recruitment policy of the area health boards in the eastern region, the following additional specialist support is being provided by them – a designated person responsible for sourcing and vetting accommodation and a second designated person for dealing with all other matters to facilitate the seamless integration of these valued members of staff.
The boards regret that this matter caused concern to the nurses and the public generally and have taken positive steps to prevent a recurrence in the future. The ERHA has networked with directors of nursing in the region and has been assured that every effort is being made to make the nurses feel welcome in this country.
As I explained in my reply last Wednesday, 4 April, to a number of questions about this particular case, my Department has written to health service employers reminding them of their responsibilities towards nurses recruited from abroad. My Department is also establishing a working group to prepare guidelines on best practice in the recruitment of nurses from abroad.
