A special, socially-distanced event to welcome overseas nurses to Cumbria has been held.
The event was hosted by Dr Nirmalan Arulanantham, a Consultant from the Renal Unit at the Cumberland Infirmary, who originally moved to the UK from Sri Lanka. He organised the event as he was keen to share some of his observations of living and working in the UK, to make the transition easier for new staff arriving from overseas.
In a thought provoking and at times comical presentation, Dr Arulanantham shared some observations about key cultural and communication changes when moving from one country to another.
Speaking after the event he said: “I myself was an immigrant, and there are a lot of cultural changes from one country to another. I was keen to just share some of my observations of living in the UK and working in the UK with the nurses, so that it will be an easier transition for them.”
Over twenty international nurses attended the event and they were able to share their own observations about settling into life in the UK, as well as chat and get to know each other and make friends.
Shery, a registered nurse from India, now based at the Cumberland Infirmary, described the event as “a beautiful evening.”
He said: “It’s a social event for all the international nurses, and it turned out really lovely. We had a little presentation from one of the consultants, and discussed a little bit about the Cumbrian and English culture, and how we can get adjusted into English culture. That was something that was really beautiful, and the way you received, and the way you welcomed us, that’s really nice.”
Also speaking at the event, Doonia Vinod John, a nurse who works on Willow A at the Cumberland Infirmary, said: “I’ve been working there since February of this year, and it’s been a great experience.
“Settling in at first was a little bit difficult, because of the change in country and the change in cultures. We were really supported by the organisation. We got some pastoral support, and they helped us in finding some houses nearby the hospital. We got introduced to certain charity programmes here, like LALO, so that we could get some stuff for our house.”
Shery added “One thing I can say if you have plans to move to the UK and work in the NHS, Cumbria is the best place to move because of the culture they have for the international people. The harmony they have in the workplace is really marvellous, and I would really recommend it to my friends, and anybody who’s from another country.”
Discussing why he chose to come and work in Cumbria, Dr Arulanantham said: “Cumbria is very friendly, it has very beautiful scenery, the cost of living is much lower than other parts of the country, house prices are much lower than other parts of the country, it has a very low crime rate, and it has beautiful countryside.”
The event was held at the People First Conference Centre in Carlisle, and organisers have praised the venue and its staff for helping to make the event such a warm and welcoming experience. They said, “We’d like to say a huge thank you to People First too. The Conference Centre is a fantastic venue with great facilities, and the staff went above and beyond to accommodate everybody and help make a friendly and welcoming atmosphere.”
A spokesperson from People First added: “We were incredibly proud to host an event in our venue to welcome international nursing staff to our community. We’re so glad the event went well and hope that the nursing staff feel welcome and it has helped them to settle in to the area.”