STUDENT nurses from an American university spent a week with the community nursing team at Farnham Hospital as part of an annual week-long trip to see how the nursing service works.

The 10 visiting students are in their final year studying at Loyola University in Chicago and spent four days at the hospital in Hale Road where they had classes and lectures with senior community nursing staff on the ways community nursing services work in Surrey and nationwide.

The students also spent three days out with community nurses visiting patients in their homes.

The visit is part of a 20-year relationship between Surrey’s Community Health Service, which has been provided by Virgin Care since 2012, and Loyola University which allows nursing teams in Surrey and students from the US to share knowledge on nursing practices.

Kathleen Vogel, one of the visiting students, said: “It’s been a wonderful trip! It’s been so interesting to see first-hand the NHS. The nurses we’ve met seem happier than American nurses and the patients have also been lovely.

“When we’ve visited them on wards and at their homes they’ve been so appreciative of the time we and the nurses have taken to speak with them and find out about their care.”

Sarah Wardle, head of community care and rehabilitation in Surrey for Virgin Care, said: “Each year we welcome a new group from Loyola University and this year they have been particularly fascinated by and engaged with the work we do.

“It’s so interesting to hear their perspective on the services we offer and it’s great to see that they have been so impressed with the way our nursing colleagues care for patients.”