London — Swansea Bay University Health Board plans to recruit nearly 900 nurses from overseas in the next four years to address workforce shortages and staff new operating theatres. The health board is set to employ 350 overseas nurses in 2022-23, after meeting a target of 130 the previous year and partially meeting a target of 60 the year before that.

Another 350 nurses are planned to be recruited this financial year, subject to approval by the chief executive. Many of the recruits are from Kerala, in south-west India. The recruitment has raised questions about whether enough is being done to train homegrown nurses and whether health services in places like Kerala could suffer due to the nursing exodus.

Efforts are being made to train and retain more homegrown staff in Wales, but health-related courses are said to be under-subscribed by 27%.