HEALTH bosses are going global to help fill scores of nursing posts and other key vacancies at Gwent hospitals.

A second intake of 60 nurses from the Philippines arrives in Gwent in February, and a recruitment drive is planned for Australia to attract physiotherapists, radiographers and other therapy and pharmacy-related professionals.

The fully qualified Filipino nurses will take a four-month adaptation course and further assessments before applying to register at the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

They may all be registered by August, though Tracy Myhill, Gwent Healthcare Trust's director of personnel, said she hoped some will get direct access to the nursing register due to exams taken overseas.

"The successful applicants are of a very high quality.

"We are sure they will make a big contribution," she said.

The issue of registration will be closely monitored after problems last year with delays in registering Gwent's first intake of Filipino nurses to the old United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (UKCC).

Despite arriving in May 2001, many were still unable to work unsupervised in the December, despite being fully qualified.

The NMC took over from the UKCC in April, and has cut the registration backlog. It hopes by the end of December to have reduced to four weeks the processing of registration applications from overseas nurses.

Though from the Philippines, the new nurses had been working in Singapore, which is where an eight-strong team of trust representatives interviewed and assessed candidates.

Thirty-two of the recruits will be based at the Royal Gwent in Newport, 20 at Nevill Hall in Abergavenny, and eight at Caerphilly District Miners' Hospital.

Despite last year's overseas intake, nursing vacancies in Gwent remained around 200. There are still not enough newly qualified nurses coming from the training schools, and recruitment and retention in the UK remains a problem. The newcomers should cut reliance on the use of costly agency staff.

To support the therapist and pharmacy staff drive, advertisements have been put in professional journals and newspapers across Australia. Open days are planned in Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney, and a website has been set up to promote Gwent to potential recruits.