Open day at Honiton Community Hospital attracts candidates from across the country.

AN open day at Honiton Community Hospital, which was held as part of a recruitment drive by the Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust, attracted nurses from as far afield as Jersey, Swansea and Merseyside.

Candidates for nursing posts travelled through floods to attend the event and 11 were offered jobs.

One of two recruitment events, it led to a total of 27 nurses being offered posts with the trust. More are set to join them in the near future.

Among those offered jobs were Band 5 nurses seeking a new challenge, those looking to return to work and students due to qualify in the autumn.

Bev Cox, assistant director of nursing for the trust, said the open day in Honiton was “highly successful” and that feedback from candidates had been “very positive”.

“The events have really raised the profile of the organisation and put the trust and Devon on the map as a great place to work,” she told the Midweek Herald.

“We saw a number of highly-qualified candidates over the two days and have received further return to work enquiries that we will be pursuing.

“This is all part of our plan to create a flexible and multi-skilled workforce, who will provide the highest quality of care to our patients - both in hospitals and out in the community.”

As part of a new initiative, the recruits will have the opportunity to work in an area of speciality or across the trust’s wide portfolio of services. These include 17 community hospitals in East, Mid and North Devon and community health and social care services across the area.

The trust said 22 candidates made it to the Honiton recruitment event despite severe flooding in the area that day.

It is planning to hold smaller-scale events in the future and will be at Honiton Show on August 30.