NHS welcomes new recruit who moved from the US to be with her new husband

An American nurse who has switched the bright lights of New York for Glasgow has said she finds life much more peaceful in Govanhill than in Brooklyn.

Grace Hayner married in 2021 and has moved to Glasgow to be with her husband, who is a trainee doctor at Greenock’s Inverclyde Royal Infirmary.

She said: “When you love someone, you want to be where they are. Because my husband is in the midst of his training, it was very clear after we married that I would come here too.”

After working as an advanced nurse practitioner in Brooklyn, New York, Grace was chosen by the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde as one of 52 new recruits from overseas.

The couple were separated for around two months while Grace went through the application process. As part of the health and care worker visa scheme, the Home Office was able to turn her visa around in 10 days.

She added: “I was in the US for about two months separated from my husband, which is quite difficult, waiting for that job to come through, but when the offer was made, the Home Office turned around the health and care worker visa very quickly, within about 10 days.”

They have now settled in Govanhill on Glasgow’s south side and said that people have been “incredibly friendly”.

Grace said “People ask me about living in Govanhill and I always say it’s very peaceful and they seem to find that very funny, but compared to Brooklyn it’s very peaceful.

“The transition to Glasgow has been one of the easiest – the people are just incredibly friendly here and the pace of life is a lot more relaxed.”

She now works at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, treating patients with medical diabetes, and she describes her new colleagues as “wonderful”.

Grace added: “Everyone’s been really lovely and helpful and warm.”

More new arrivals will be joining Grace over the coming weeks and months. The health board hopes they will help relieve some of the pressure on staff across the NHS.

Angela Wallace, nurse director at NHSGGC, said: “I want to welcome Grace and all of our overseas nurses who are set to join us in the coming weeks and months.

“They will be very welcome additions to our NHS family and will help to relieve some of the pressure on our staff teams on the wards, bringing with them a wealth of experience for our patients.”

Grace will have to re-qualify with the Nursing and Midwifery Council in order to comply with UK regulations, after which she will be able to work as an advanced nurse practitioner again.

She said: “I’m excited for the future, the work I’m doing here is quite different from what I did before, but it’s exciting on the wards here at the Queen Elizabeth and I’m looking forward to requalifying and working with patients.”