AROUND 600 new staff are wanted by Murrumbidgee Local Health District to cope with the impact of COVID-19 on its existing 4000-strong workforce.
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The body, which manages Riverina hospitals, aside from Albury's, launched the employment drive on Tuesday.
Chief executive Jill Ludford, in a video, appeals to would-be staff to help her tackle one of the "greatest threats to our people".
"We need you to help us care for people in our hospitals and in our virtual care centres," Ms Ludford says.
"If you have skills in the healthcare industry, if you are a clinician, you have previously worked in healthcare we would like to hear from you."
The health district's director people and culture Helen Emmerson, who is based in Albury, said a variety of new staff were needed.
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"We have many roles, medical, nursing, allied health and also non-clinical roles where we would welcome new candidates," Ms Emmerson said.
"We need additional staff to respond to COVID-19, we also need to build a capacity for our existing staff to take breaks.
"We may be responding to COVID-19 for three months and we just may need to make sure we are supporting current staff, equally we still need to build in some capacity should our staff have need for self-isolation and not be able to work."
Ms Emmerson could not say how many new jobs would be created in places such as Corowa and Deniliquin through the jobs drive.
However, the bulk of new staff will be employed at Wagga and Griffith hospitals, which are home to the health service's two hospital intensive care units.
Ms Emmerson said if jobseekers on the Border approached her organisation and were deemed suitable for Albury hospital their details would be passed on to Albury Wodonga Health.
Murrumbidgee health will fast-track its new recruits.
"We still need to undertake checks to validate their skills and to ensure they're safe to work in NSW Health," Ms Emmerson said.
"(However) we believe we could bring people on within 10 days and then we would train them in specific corporate and clinical care to support our work."
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