NHS Highland hopes to recruit Dutch medical professionals

Inverness has a direct air link with Amsterdam

A Scottish health board has extended its effort to recruit new staff to the Netherlands.

NHS Highland has placed adverts about its available vacancies in a Dutch newspaper and also posted the details on a dedicated recruitment website.

The health board said new posts were being created because it was expanding its workforce.

However, it has also been experiencing problems in recruiting staff to some hospitals and GP practices.

Elaine Mead, chief executive of NHS Highland, said: "Ours is a beautiful area where the quality and pace of life are exactly what many professional people are looking for.

"We already have a multi-cultural workforce and actively seek to recruit people from outside the UK.

"The fact that there are now regular flights between Amsterdam and Inverness might help to persuade doctors and other professionals in Holland to consider working with us."

Last year, urban doctors interested in a complete change of lifestyle were targeted in an NHS Highland advertising campaign.

The campaign included the appearance of adverts about vacancies in the Highlands appearing in Leeds.

In 2013, NHS Highland uploaded a short film to YouTube in a bid to recruit new staff to its cancer treatment services.