News

First cohort of Kenyan nurses arrive in Britain

Friday, August 12th, 2022 09:00 | By
The 13 nurses have been recruited by the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. COURTESY/bbc
The 13 nurses have been recruited by the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. COURTESY/bbc

Oxfordshire hospitals have become the first in the UK to welcome Kenyan nurses as part of an agreement between the British and Kenyan governments.

Twelve nurses have joined the team at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, while one is set to work at the Horton General Hospital in Banbury.

The move is part of a deal signed by the two governments in 2021.

It aims to address the pressures faced by the NHS and provide employment opportunities for Kenyan residents.

Sam Foster, chief nursing officer at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said the new recruits would enhance diversity, introduce new ideas and boost the nursing workforce.

Bilateral agreement

“We have so much to learn from each other and they will help us deliver compassionate excellence to our patients,” she added.

Julia Mbuthia, from Murang’a, a town 50 miles from Kenya’s capital city Nairobi, is among the thirteen new nurses being recruited.

She said colleagues and the Kenyan community in Oxford helped them settle in.

“I am grateful to be among the first chosen to serve through the bilateral agreement and change the course of healthcare for generations to come,” she said.

The trust said it welcomed 1,000 international nurses, recruited from locations including India, the Caribbean, and the United States, since the end of 2017.

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe flagged off nineteen Kenyan nurses who have been recruited to work in the United Kingdom in June. 

The move follows the bilateral agreement between Kenya and Britain signed by President Uhuru Kenyatta and UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson in July last year.

Kagwe said that a rigorous process was undertaken to get the final list of 3,329 nurses who applied last year.

 “Kenyan health workers should be broad-minded. The fact that you trained in Kenya should not limit you to Kenya. Think broadly and explore opportunities outside the country. You are not rehearsing a life. In this one shot that you have, broaden your thinking and work in other places,” he said.

He reiterated the need for Kenya to be a health tourism hub saying that the deployment of health workers to the UK was testimony to the quality of training churned from our local institutions.

Health tourism

 “The fact that Kenya’s ambition is to become a health tourism destination, we are investing in that sector. This can only happen if the recipients of the opportunities are young people who will share their expertise from abroad and mentor those remaining in the country,” said the CS.

The government is also in the process of appointing a health attaché that will be stationed at the Kenyan embassy in London, by next month.

Kagwe said that Kenya is also in talks with other countries like Italy and Kuwait which wish to recruit nurses. The CS insisted that the deployment is meant to ensure that over 11,000 nurses who graduate every year do not lack employment. 

More on News


ADVERTISEMENT

RECOMMENDED STORIES News


ADVERTISEMENT