The New South Wales (NSW) Department of Health wants to recruit 150 registered psychiatric nurses for the new Forensic Hospital in Sydney.
And a recruitment consultancy has put a call out to nurses in the city to consider moving to the other side of the world to fill the roles. The hospital they are recruiting for is a 12-minute drive from Sydney and close to Bondi beach, a favourite with surfers. Mental health nurses can earn anything from £22,000 (A$47,000) to £31,000 (A$66,800) in Australia, depending on experience. Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership pays registered psychiatric nurses between £20,710, and £45,996.Irish firm ICE Group has been appointed to attract trained healthcare staff from the British isles to fill the Australian roles. Successful applicants will be expected to start their new lives from June, but will be given help in applying for visas. The Forensic Hospital is the first of its kind in NSW and provides specialised forensic mental health programs for adults and adolescents.
Patients will include those who have been, or are at risk of being, in contact with the criminal justice system. The hospital includes care for patients requiring short-term intensive care right through to those who will call the hospital home for many years. Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership, which runs NHS services in the area, believes staff can gain a great deal from working in the UK.
A spokeswoman said: “We are confident that as a significant provider of specialist mental health services, staff at Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust are ideally placed to develop their skills and careers with us whilst enabling and empowering people to live fulfilling lives.”
The Royal College of Nursing has its own international department which speaks to nurses who are considering work abroad and help provide advice and information. A spokeswoman said: “Nursing is a valuable, portable qualification and the quality of training undertaken in the United Kingdom is valued across the international health community. “Nurses who travel abroad bring a wealth of experience back into the NHS on return.”
Interviews for the posts will be held in the UK in the next few weeks. For more information freephone ICE Group on 0800 0964317.