Hospital bosses are holding an open day in a bid to attract people to fill 50 nursing vacancies.

Jobs are on offer across a number of elderly, medical and surgical specialties at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The organisation has a Warning Notice served on it to improve staffing levels by Friday, March 7, after Care Quality Commission inspectors made surprise visits to Bradford Royal Infirmary in September and October.

The watchdog said there were not enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff which had a major impact on those using the hospital.

It is hoped that next month’s nurse recruitment open day will attract strong candidates. Chief nurse Juliette Greenwood said: “At Bradford Teaching Hospitals we are proud to provide high quality, patient-centered care and we are looking for compassionate, motivated nurses, who share our passion for putting patients first, to join our workforce.

“Our open day, on Wednesday, February 12, at Bradford Royal Infirmary’s Field House, is aimed at all nursing students who are close to qualifying, as well as newly qualified nurses and those would like a change or wish to return to the profession after a break. We are also eager to talk to nurses keen to pursue a career as an advanced nurse practitioner as there are openings for these roles within our hospitals too.”

The Foundation Trust is also working in partnership with Bradford University to support nurses seeking to return to practice. Representatives from the School of Health Studies will be there to answer questions and provide information about the wide range of post graduate continuous professional development courses available.

Education Services manager, Amanda Hudson, said: “There will be information stands from all recruiting specialties, as well as representatives from the hospital’s Human Resources (HR) department and the BRI’s Health and Wellbeing Centre, who can discuss the benefits of working for Bradford Teaching Hospitals.”

In November, the Royal College of Nursing released a report which said nationally there were nearly 20,000 nursing vacancies unfilled in England.

l The recruitment event runs from 2.30pm to 6pm on Wednesday, February 12. For more information and to register interest visit education.bradfordhospitals.nhs.uk/courses/career-open-days/nurse-recruitment-days-register-your-interest.