An island the size of Guernsey can never hope to produce enough trained nursing staff from within its own popululation. It has therefore always been necessary to recruit suitably qualified individuals from the UK and further afield, both Registered General Nurses and Registered Mental Health Nurses. Nurses have come to us from as far as Ireland, Scandinavia and even the Philippines.

This has worked very successfully over the years, with a regular influx of new people bringing with them fresh ideas and enthusiasm. We have a responsibility to the people of the island to provide consistently excellent care, and staff who commit themselves to us for a period of their careers share that responsibility. We need people who will contribute to the stability of the service.

The healthcare system in Guernsey is run along very different lines from that in the UK, although staff are trained in the same way and the proportion of qualified staff is greater than that normally found in UK Health Trusts. There is no NHS. Three general practices provide family doctor services on a private basis. There is one specialist practice which includes general surgery, general medicine, obstetrics and orthopaedics. The specialists and most GPs have access to hospital facilities. Fees for consultations are partly subsided by the States with the remainder being the responsibility of the patient or their medical insurers.

The Specialist Health Insurance Scheme covers all residents of Guernsey and its sister islands of Alderney, Herm and Jethou.

All hospital services are funded by the States with the cost of the acute private specialist services covered by the compulsory health Insurance Scheme. This means that residents are relieved of the potentially high cost of specialist medical treatment.

The Mental Health and Elderly Care services are based at the Castel and King Edward VII Hospitals respectively. Acute services are based a few minutes drive away at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital.

All nursing and midwifery staff are paid on the same salary scales laid down by the Whitley Council in the UK, and the States of Guernsey Board of Health has also adopted the Whitley Council conditions of service, with some variations.

Registered Nurse training in Guernsey is delivered by the Board of Health Institute of Health Studies. Pre- and post-registration courses are validated by the University of Sheffield.

The hospitals have a commitment to provide qualified nurses with the opportunity to maintain and develop their professional skills. A generous education and training budget is provided towards the achievement of these ends.

The hospital has a commitment to provide qualified nurses and midwifery staff with the opportunity to maintain and develop their professional skills. There is the chance to move quickly up from D grade to E; study days are guaranteed; there are Profile Packs to help with the demand for these professional requirements; the Nurse Education Centre library is well stocked and provides computers with access to the Internet.

Each year a minimum of two half days' study leave for every nurse and midwife is guaranteed.

All new nursing staff attend a comprehensive three day induction programme, usually beginning on their first day. Wards and departments have individualised orientation packs, and each new recruit is allocated a mentor / facilitator to provide support and ensure that the induction process is successful.