DEDICATED nursing students have been enlisted to help Furness General Hospital staff in the fight against coronavirus.

The University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) has welcomed 68 third year nursing students who are ready to help hospitals cope and save lives.

Twenty-four of the student nurses will be working at Furness General Hospital (FGH) in Barrow, four will be working at Westmorland General Hospital (WGH) in Kendal and 40 will be working at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary (RLI).

The student nurses, who have been studying at various institutions including the University of Cumbria in Lancaster, Edge Hill University in Ormskirk, University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in Preston and Liverpool John Moores University, have all had their induction and will be working with teams across the trust in the coming days.

The students, who are on extended paid placements, are keen to support the trust’s coronavirus response.

Aaron Cummins, chief executive of UHMBT, said he was delighted to welcome the student nurses and is looking forward to meeting them in the course of their work.

He said: “Everyone within our trust is extremely pleased to welcome the nursing students and to work with them over the coming months.

“Their presence is greatly appreciated at this challenging time and we will support them to get the most out of training and working with us.

"We will look after their welfare and enable them to develop their knowledge and skills.

“Our staff are at the heart of our trust and we always strive to make UHMBT a great place to work as well as a great place to be cared for. The experience the students will gain in working with our staff and caring for our patients will be invaluable to them as they forge careers in the NHS.”

UHMBT has also welcomed 16 Foundation Interim Year One doctors to their shadowing and induction programme.

They are all Lancaster Medical School graduates who have graduated and registered early to support frontline colleagues with the coronavirus pandemic.

Five of these new doctors will work at Furness General Hospital and 11 will work at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.