THIRTY-one specialist intensive care nurses recruited from India have started work this month at Basildon and Thurrock Hospital.

The nurses have been recruited through a £400,000 initiative run by NHS England which will see up to 130 international nurses recruited to hospitals across the country.

A further 10 nurses have been recruited by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT), and five have joined North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT).

Ruth May, chief nursing officer at NHS England, welcomed the nurses in a video call to them as they begin their careers in the NHS: "Overseas-trained nurses have always been a vital part of our NHS nursing teams and I'm proud to welcome our new critical care colleagues to Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust.

"The skills these specialist nurses are bringing to our hospitals are needed now more than ever, and will save lives."