Northern NHS trusts have fewest overseas workers

One in 10 NHS workers in the region have a different nationality than British

Health services across the North East and Cumbria have the lowest number of NHS staff recruited from overseas in England, according to NHS figures.

One in five NHS England staff registered a nationality other than British last year, but in the North East and Cumbria it was about one in 10.

The data comes as concerns have been raised about over reliance on international workers within the NHS.

Katha Deguzman, a Filipino ward sister at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, said working in the UK had been "incredibly fulfilling".

The number of overseas workers in the North East and Cumbria is the lowest in the country and puts the region within the NHS long term international recruitment aim of between nine and 11% of health service staff.

Doctor and nursing roles had the highest percentage of non-British staff members in the area.

Miss Deguzman, who moved to the UK in 2018, said she was "really worried and scared" about coming to England to work but had since found a second family in her friendly colleagues and patients.

"It was a really friendly hospital," the spinal injury ward nurse said, adding: "I felt like [the patients] would worry because I'm not from here, but I get all the trust of my patients which I'm truly grateful for.

"It's fulfilling for me, being able to extend my help to care for them."

Katha Deguzman trained in the Philippines and worked in Saudi Arabia before accepting moving to Middlesbrough

The region has a lower percentage of non-White British residents compared to the rest of the country.

The last census in 2021 found 90% of people in the North East and 95% of people in Cumbria were White British, compared to 81% nationally.

Despite the lower than average number of overseas employees, international workers remain significant to NHS provision in the region.

At South Tyneside And Sunderland NHS Trust, 18% are non-British, the highest number in the region.

The North East and Cumbria Integrated Care Board had the lowest number at 2%, while at the South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, 11% of staff are non-British.

Debi McKeown, the nursing workforce lead at James Cook, said understanding local dialect could at times be tricky for new recruits but the high level of clinical skills was key in "sustaining a really healthy workforce".

She said: "We absolutely had a gap in our workforce here and being able to bring in international nurses has enhanced what we can provide to patients.

"Overseas nurses were really crucial to help us provide safe care to patients."