'We're making a real impact on NHS patients' lives'

"With the NHS being fully public, you're helping everyone all at once. [It] is really important."

For second year medical student Ella Smith, 24, it took a journey of 11,000 miles from her home in Queenstown, New Zealand to start playing her part in the NHS.

On qualifying from the University of Worcester Ms Smith, who aims to become a doctor in England, could become one of the one in six NHS staff in Herefordshire and Worcestershire who have been recruited from overseas, figures show.

Asked what it was about the UK in particular that drew her here, Ms Smith replied: "I think because they have a similar sort of system to what we've got."

The student added the structure of the medical school seemed "really interesting" to her.

"We're a lot more hands on than what I would've been at home as well," said Ms Smith.

"So it means that from year one, like day dot, we were getting amongst everyone and learning from the people we were gonna be working with, so it made it really exciting."

Many prospective NHS workers start their journey at the university, studying nursing or medicine, before they often get recruited locally.

Ms Smith said she had always wanted to be a doctor, from the age of seven or eight.

"It's ever-changing what you're doing, you're constantly learning, but you're also problem-solving and then making a real impact on people's lives.

"The opportunities that I'll have working over here are different to what I would have at home, so I feel like getting to train here is really important.

"So if I was to go home, it wouldn't be working in that same hospital environment.

"The opportunities here are really good. Imagine, by the time I've finished my training, I'll hopefully be pretty settled here, so will end up here long term, I'm assuming."

Staff shortages remain a problem in nursing, with falling student numbers, safe staffing guidelines and the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic driving higher international recruitment.

Prospective trauma nurse Badusha Mohammed, 20, came to England from India three years ago as a student, with the aim of working for the NHS.

He said: "If you heal one patient or if you save a life, you are a hero, but [if] you [are] saving hundreds of lives, you're a doctor or a nurse."

Mr Mohammed was a teenager when he first started to dream about coming to Britain because of his admiration for the free-at-the-point-of-use medical care available to anyone.

"I decided, 'Okay, I need to step out from my family, I need to go somewhere else, I need to explore the world'.

"So then I chose [the] UK as my country, because it's more similar to India.... [the] education system is more similar to India, rather than going to any other country.

"[The] hospital system... is one of the best, rather than any other countries."

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