More than 200 nurses from the Philippines have been offered jobs at Medway Maritime Hospital.

Managers from Medway NHS Foundation Trust flew to Manila in March as part of a drive to tackle staff shortages and reduce spending on temporary workers.

They are working with recruitment specialists TMP Worldwide, with advertising on radio, press and Spotify.

Deputy director of nursing Simone Hay said: “We had a very successful recruitment trip and have made provisional offers to more than 240 nurses.”

After further checks successful candidates are expected to start work later this year.

Around 120 of them are expected to be employed eventually, with a £3,000 recruitment and retention bonus paid over 26 months, flexible working hours, and a relocation loan.

The trust conducted more than 500 interviews and also interviewed nurses from the EU over Skype.

Only staff qualified to the appropriate UK standards will be recruited from abroad.