Local NHS launches innovative app to support international nurses

The NHS in Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes (BLMK) is giving a boost to internationally educated staff with the launch of an innovative app to provide them with valuable support as they join the workforce.

The app – called InterN – has been developed to help newly recruited international nurses, midwives and allied health professionals in Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes to adapt to life in the UK and to working for the NHS.

It provides a blend of signposting tools, local information, coaching and advice all in one place. It can also translate this information into 137 languages.

Blenda Correya, Systems International Career Coach, Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board, said: “We are very excited to have launched the new InterN app, which will provide new recruits with a comprehensive toolkit for navigating their new role and adapting to life in the UK.

“We hope that this app will transform the experience of internationally educated health professionals in Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes.”

The app, a successful collaboration between Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board (BLMK ICB), partners across BLMK, and ICBs across the East of England, is available to international staff before they arrive in the UK to help them prepare for their new role.

Sarah Stanley, Chief Nursing Director, Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board, said: “International nurses play an incredibly important role in delivering care. Coming to a new country and joining the NHS can be both an exciting and daunting experience, so it is important that we support them to adapt to life in the UK.

“This app is the result of an excellent collaboration between health partners in the region. It provides a single place where our newly recruited staff can find all of the information they will need to settle into life working for the NHS.”

As part of BLMK ICB’s recruitment programme, internationally educated nurses also have access to an International Nurses Career Coach, who offers support to the nurses transitioning into working in the area.

Staff can download the app on their personal mobiles by heading over to the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play Store (Android) and installing the Health Zone UK app and then searching InterN – Eastern Region.