There have been celebrations at Hereford County Hospital where the first group of Filipino nurses, who arrived earlier this year, have successfully become registered nurses.

The first cohort of Filipino nurses completed their Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) and are now registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

Prior to their arrival in Herefordshire they had already completed a number of objectives in the Philippines to make them eligible to work for Wye Valley NHS Trust.

Since their arrival at the County Hospital from January onwards this year, the nurses have been supported to undertake a number of OSCE assessments at Northampton University.

“The OSCE assessments are based around a number of fundamental nursing skills which include patient assessment and care planning, safe administration of medicines and Basic Life Support (BLS),” said Karen Miller, the Trust’s recruitment and retention manager.

“Our recruitment and education teams have worked closely with the nurses and we’re delighted with what they have achieved so far.

“They have worked extremely hard to prepare themselves for the OSCE assessment while working for the Trust at the same time and we congratulate them on their success,” added Karen.

The Filipino nurses are now working with colleagues across the medical and surgical acute areas at the hospital.