More than 500 newly registered nurses have joined NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde this autumn, the health board has announced. The new recruits will work in hospitals and in the community across the board's six Health and Social Care Partnerships.

The graduates join 56 midwives recently recruited into maternity services. With recruitment still to be completed in some remaining departments, the board expects the final number joining through the 2026 intake to exceed last year's total.

Support in the first year

The new nurses will receive structured support during their first year in post. That includes local and organisational induction, clinical supervision, continuing professional development and competency-based learning, as well as the Flying Start NHS programme for newly registered nurses.

This year's recruitment campaign has seen a particularly strong increase in candidates for adult nursing roles, alongside increased interest in joining the board overall, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said.

A warm welcome

Professor Angela Wallace, nurse director at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, welcomed the new arrivals. "On behalf of everyone at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, I offer a warm welcome to all our new nurses and midwives," she said.

"It's the start of an exciting new journey for each of them, and they've worked incredibly hard to reach this point," she added. "Our nursing and midwifery staff support patients through some of the most important moments in their lives, from welcoming new babies into the world to providing care at the most sensitive times in our lives."

She said bringing in such a large number of new staff underlined the board's commitment to high standards of care, as well as the new recruits' own desire to care for others.

Retraining for a new career

Among those who have made the move into nursing is Jaspreet, from Bishopbriggs, who changed direction in her life to retrain as a nurse and joined the board in 2025. She moved from the United States as a teenager and worked in care while raising her two sons, before deciding to take the plunge into nursing.

Now a year into the job, she described her first year as a great and rewarding experience, if a very busy one. "My first year of nursing has been a great and rewarding experience, although it has also been very busy," she said. "I have learned a lot throughout the year and have gained valuable experience that has helped me grow both personally and professionally."

Her advice to the new intake is to keep going and look after themselves. "Be kind to yourself, trust the process, and remember that becoming a confident nurse takes time and experience," she said.

Why it matters

The intake comes at a time when health boards across the UK are working to recruit and keep nursing staff, with demand for care rising and experienced staff in short supply. A large graduate intake does not solve those pressures on its own, but it brings fresh staff into wards and community teams, and the board's emphasis on induction and supervision in the first year is aimed at helping them stay.

For patients in Glasgow and Clyde, the new nurses will be visible across hospital wards, children's services and community care, as the board works through the remainder of its 2026 recruitment.