The Health Ministry is seeking to recruit between 200 and 300 foreign nurses to solve the “crisis” resulting from the shortage in the sector.
Some operating theatres at Mater Dei Hospital have had to remain closed because the human resources are lacking, said the Parliamentary Secretary for Community Care, Mario Galea about the recruitment drive.
In recent months, the health authorities embarked on a campaign to entice more students to consider taking up nursing, but the profession is competing with other areas of healthcare, such as social work and psychology, where there is also a shortage.
In the circumstances, the ministry issued a call for tenders for recruitment agencies to engage foreign nurses, a proposal that had already been mooted when John Dalli was Social Policy Minister, Mr Galea said.
The nurses’ qualifications would have to be of European standard and recognised by EU countries while good spoken English is deemed a vital prerequisite.
The fact that nurses are lacking all over the world and that the hospital has to compete with the private sector made the situation even more challenging, he said.
