Successful campaign sees nurse vacancies at King's Lynn hospital fall to 'all time low'

Nurse vacancy rates at Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital are at an all time low, following a successful recruitment campaign.

Officials have said they have filled 147 nursing positions in a matter of months, thanks to the campaign.

At the end of August, there were 198 unfilled full-time nursing positions at the QEH, which had fallen to 170 by the end of September.

Since then, a further 119 of these posts have been filled, leaving just 51 positions still to be filled – equating to a record-low vacancy rate for the hospital of just 5.2 per cent.

The trust is working closely with local universities, including the University of East Anglia, Anglia Ruskin University, the University of Suffolk and Open University to attract student nurses to the hospital by offering apprenticeships.

The hospital has also had international recruit success, with 140 nurses arriving at the QEH this year from the Philippines and India – 25 in November alone.

And in October, the trust launched a “high-profile” recruitment campaign to attract people to come and live and work in West Norfolk, promoting the QEH and local area as a place where you can enjoy the “best of work and best of life”.

QEH chief nurse Libby McManus said: “It is fantastic news that our vacancy rate for qualified nurses has reached an all time low. It has been a real team effort to achieve this result.”

“We have created easier ways for people to transfer between similar roles, encouraging them to stay in King’s Lynn and develop with us at team QEH,” she added.

The news came in the same week in which the hospital said it was “busy” in A&E over the weekend and into Monday – but it said the demand had not been record-breaking, contrary to rumours.

To find out more about working at Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital, visit https://teamqeh.com/.