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This article reviews the recently published updated NHS International Recruitment Toolkit and what is says about how English language and communication skills training can support recruitment, retention and the pastoral care provided to overseas trained staff. All quotes are from the Toolkit.
Overseas staff make a significant contribution to the care of patients in the NHS. The system benefits greatly from their expertise and the new knowledge and skills they bring. In return, they must have access to support and development opportunities to enable them to progress their careers, either within the NHS or in their home countries, if they choose to return.
The statement clearly acknowledges the vital part that overseas healthcare professionals play in the NHS – a reality emphasised all the more by the current overstretched service, ongoingly increasing demand for healthcare, the government commitment to reducing waiting times, and significant staff shortages, with an estimated 111,000 posts unfilled, including almost 35,000 nurses and 9,000 doctors, reported by the Kings Fund in May last year.[1]
Ensuring that overseas trained staff have the English language and communication skills to deliver safe and effective care enables better recruitment and retention. The toolkit highlights both aspects.
Employing organisations are responsible for ensuring that everyone involved in the delivery of services has the required level of English language competence to enable them to communicate effectively with patients and colleagues.
Language evaluation. Having a process in place for evaluating international applicants’ language skills enables employers to understand what support is required before they are ready to sit the OET or IELTS test and achieve the scores required by the GMC, NMC or HCPC.
Exam coaching. A support package can vary from a few hours coaching on exam techniques to a more extensive study programme which builds language skills alongside test-specific preparation.
Supporting SIFE. Using a language evaluation process for staff where employers follow alternative routes to assessment, such as SIFE for nurses, also ensures that those joining the register have the skills they need to communicate safely with patents and colleagues. Again, an evaluation will highlight any weaknesses that need addressing prior to registration.
Identifying English language competency prior to offering an appointment helps to ensure protection for patients, employing organisations, and employees.
Given the value of staff from overseas and the high costs of running a recruitment campaign and relocation, a successful induction process and ongoing pastoral and professional support is of the utmost importance.
..employers still have a duty to assure themselves that all individuals have the appropriate level of English competency to carry out the specific role they are being appointed to do.
Assuring that overseas staff have the right communication skills to deliver safe and effective care is integral to retention. Achieving the required OET or IELTS score shows an advanced level of English, but the language they used in the test is different in many ways to what they then use at work. Here conversations can not only be difficult and consequential, but also include unknown idioms, unfamiliar accents and dialects, with patients and colleagues talking at pace.
Staff who are recruited from abroad are often less likely and less willing to raise concerns and admit mistakes, an issue worsened if they have experienced any form of workplace bullying. This problem is recognised by the National Guardian for the NHS who are currently conducting a national Speak Up Review with overseas trained staff.
Language and culture often work hand in hand. Having a communication skills support programme in place is also an opportunity to provide input and insight into British life – its values, traditions, festivals, leisure pursuits, food and transport, for example – as well as the NHS itself.
It’s important to hit the ground running. Resettling in a new country, working in an unfamiliar healthcare service, and having so many conversations in a language one may not be used to speaking is clearly a lot to take on.
Providing pastoral support training like this to international staff – even those who may already be in the UK – is critical to retention, the delivery of high standards of care, and positive, safe relationships with patients, their families and colleagues.
The first six months in a new role typically influences whether a recruit stays for the long term, making induction, early pastoral and professional support crucial… Effective mentoring, professional support and a supportive learning environment will enable them to be as productive as possible in their roles.
SLC provides CPD-accredited language and communication skills programmes for the recruitment and retention of overseas staff working in the NHS:
Feel free to get in touch directly to discuss your needs.
Back to Menu ↩ Writing an effective OET letter requires clarity, structure, and accuracy. Many candidates lose marks because of avoidable mistakes. Understanding these common
Back to Menu ↩ The UK healthcare service has relied for many years on the invaluable contributions made by overseas trained healthcare professionals. To register
We’re delighted to see that the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), the UK regulator for Allied Health Professionals (AHPs), now accept OET for a
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