Nurses from Philippines Join Lakes Mental Health Unit

As part of overseas recruitment drive by West London NHS Trust

Newly registered nurses Aileen Amoncio, Eryka Fadrigalan and Sarah Balase

West London NHS Trust has become one of the first mental health trusts in the country to launch a recruitment drive for nurses overseas.  The first group of three nurses, from the Philippines, have just finished their training and joined the team at Lakeside Mental Health Unit, Hounslow, on the West Middlesex Hospital site.

The three nurses, Aileen Amoncio, Eryka Fadrigalan and Sarah Balase, arrived in the UK in the autumn.  Although practising nurses in the Philippines already, they had to pass exams to become registered to work in the UK.

Five more nurses arrived from the Philippines in January and are doing their training, and a further group will be arriving shortly.

Director of Nursing and Patient Experience, Stephanie Bridger said: “Like many other NHS trusts we find recruiting and retaining staff a challenge, and it is one of our key priorities to address this.  We have started a huge recruitment drive, attending careers fairs across the UK, offering Nursing Degree Apprenticeships, visiting sixth forms and colleges to encourage people to work for the Trust.

“We are really pleased that our first nurses from the Philippines have passed their exams and become fully registered nurses.   It’s great to see them working on the wards and they have settled in well.  They are also supporting our second group of nurses from the Philippines who are currently going through their training and will be placed at Lakeside once they have passed their exams.”

Speaking about her new experiences so far, Aileen Amoncio said: “The Trust has been really supportive with training and very welcoming. I have found London to be very diverse and the weather very unpredictable!”

April 12, 2019