GREAT Western Hospital wants to hire more theatre staff and will be running a recruitment drive on Saturday.

The event, taking place between 10am and 2pm, is part of Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s plans to extend its services and treatments.

GWH is looking to hire operating department practitioners and theatre nurses.

Those who attend the event, in GWH’s academy on the lower floor of the hospital, will have a chance to speak to the senior theatre team.

They will have a tour of the hospital and see the facilities which they could eventually work in.

Adam Kirton, the head of recruitment and resourcing, said: “Our theatre team have a fantastic reputation for high quality care and professionalism.

“So this day is a brilliant opportunity for anyone looking to broaden their horizons and take on an exciting new challenge.

“As one of the top trusts to work for in the south west, people who join us in the theatre suite will be able to make use of a number of staff benefits including a fully funded one-year preceptorship programme for registered nurses, which includes full study leave.”

After finding out more about the available positions and taking the tour, prospective employees, will be interviewed for their desired roles.

Leading medical companies will also be at the event to discuss the products, training and support on offer to the trust’s staff.

Earlier this week, figures showed that GWH’s A&E department was failing to reach national targets.

NHS England says 95 per cent of A&E patients should be dealt with within four hours. But during the benchmark period, the hospital only managed to attend to 87.5 per cent of admissions in the desired time.

The NHS release A&E figures on a weekly basis and these were for the period ending March 30.

A GWH spokesman said: “Our priority is to provide safe and high quality care to each patient.

“The four hour national target is not a measure of the time taken for patients to be seen by a doctor or nurse but, in fact, the time taken to either discharge, admit or transfer that patient.

“All patients who arrive at our emergency department in need of urgent care will, of course, be given medical attention at the earliest opportunity.”

To find out more about career opportunities with the trust visit the website at www.jobs.nhs.uk