Bosses at Princess Margaret Hospital today said they were delighted with the response to This is Wiltshire and Evening Advertiser's Come Back Nurses campaign. For the past fortnight, we have been encouraging people who have left the NHS to consider returning to the wards.

PMH is 70 nurses short, and desperately needs qualified and skilled staff to ensure it can maintain a high level of care. More than 20 people responded to our campaign enough to staff four separate ward shifts.

The Evening Advertiser campaign to boost the number of nurses at Princess Margaret Hospital has triggered an encouraging response.

Swindon and Marlborough NHS trust has already received at least 21 inquiries from people about training for a career in the nursing profession and former nurses who are interested in returning to nursing after taking a break.

The two-week campaign was launched on October 9, in partnership with the hospital to fill 70 urgently needed nursing vacancies.

Return to practice co-ordinator Liz Jaffray said: "We have had more than double the number of inquiries we would normally get. A lot of them have said that they read about the campaign in the paper.

"We have had inquiries about many different aspects of nursing. Many of the calls have been about working as an auxiliary nurse and others have been about taking up nursing as a career.

She added that other calls had been about the return to practice course.

"We are pleased to have had a couple of inquiries from men, one of whom had already worked as a nurse and another who was considering going into nursing as a career.

"It is a good time to become a nurse. There are lots of opportunities to vary shifts. Management are more open to offering flexible hours. We feel that people who have been nurses have a lot to bring back to the hospital in terms of their experience. We hope to have a lot more inquiries in the near future."

She said the feedback she had received from the most recently qualified group of nurses to follow the return to practise course had been positive.

"They agreed it was hard work on the wards but in general they said they said they were pleased they had come back to nursing."

Options open to nurses working at PMH are not limited to working full-time. Part-time contracts can be negotiated and a nursing bank at the hospital can agree working hours up to six weeks in advance. Career opportunities in nursing are better than they have ever been, with on-going staff development training provided by the trust.

And for nursing trainees a new cadetship scheme has been launched, which will allow school leavers to follow an apprentice-style course leading to an NVQ qualification.

The scheme also guarantees a place on the three year nursing diploma course at the University of the West of England.

Interviews are already being held for the next 20-place return to nursing course, which starts in March.

n It is not too late to find out how to get back to nursing. The hotline number will remain in operation. To speak to Liz Jaffray, call Swindon 426505.