HEALTH bosses are celebrating after 200 nurses qualified -- nine months after they had to bring nurses from Spain due to a staffing crisis.

The recruits have just completed a three-year course from the University of Central Lancashire in either child health, adult nursing or mental health. Many are expected to gain employment in the county.

Late last year the Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley NHS Trust received £1.2m from the government to increase the number of intensive care and high dependency beds, but were unable to recruit enough domestic nurses to staff it.

So 15 Spanish nurses were recruited. Now, while there is still a staffing crisis, this latest influx has eased the problem going into the winter months.

Edie Kenyon, the nurse manager the children's surgical unit at Blackburn Royal Infirmary, said: "The Trust is taking on many of the nurses, but we always need more.

"The University of Central Lancashire courses are very popular and they always have a high number of people applying to get on to them. So hopefully this will continue.

"And it's something we should celebrate that we are recruiting qualified nurses."