Case Study: United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust - Radiography Recruitment
By Gemma Raw
As 27 overseas radiographers move to the UK for a rewarding career at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, we discover what makes our international team’s recruitment solution so successful.
To learn more, we hear from Miriam Scale, Clinical Support Services Resourcing Advisor at the Trust, and Sanctuary International’s Partnership Manager, Vitor Rosado.
Miriam, could you tell us why Sanctuary was selected as a recruitment partner?
Miriam: “When we started the recruitment project in August 2021, we already had a couple of vacant posts. Then, funding became available to recruit another 20 Band 5 international radiographers at several of our Boston and Lincoln sites.
“To meet the demand, we appointed Sanctuary, who we knew would be able to help. After all, they had already successfully recruited and relocated international allied health professionals for our Trust.”
What’s different about Sanctuary’s recruitment process?
Miriam: "Vitor and the team have a strong handle on every stage of the recruitment and relocation process. As such, they take great care to ensure that our radiographers are well supported on their journey.
“Even with all the pressures of Covid-19 testing and vaccination status checking last year, they never let us down. They were always quick to respond to the changes.”
Vitor: “Our offering is all about recruiting in the most logical way for our clients. One of the reasons why we’re successful is that we have defined processes and provide 100% visibility on where each candidate is in their journey. This helps Miriam and the team plan ahead for each new arrival.”
What are the international team’s best attributes?
Miriam: “It’s hard to pick just one. For me, Vitor and the team are responsive and available. There are never any delays in responding to my queries. I even ping messages to them when I’m in the middle of a Teams call, and they’ll either jump on or message me an answer.
“As well as being in regular contact, we also have bi-weekly catch-ups that detail where each candidate is in the process. This makes workforce planning far slicker as I feed this information to appointing managers so that they know when to expect new team members.”
How does Sanctuary support you in meeting your welcome package?
Miriam: “As part of our welcome package, we provide funded accommodation for the first 28 days, starting from the day of arrival. As you can expect, this takes quite a lot of coordination with our facilities team. So, having a clear idea from Sanctuary on when we can expect someone to join us is important.”
Vitor: “This is why we are incredibly open and transparent about timeframes. We work our hardest to quicken the process, but we’re also very realistic. If something is beyond our control and will impact a start date (e.g., a delay with the HCPC), we share this with Miriam so that she can manage expectations and resources.”
How successful has the recruitment been?
Vitor: “We’re delighted to say that Sanctuary has helped 25 radiographers make a permanent move to Lincolnshire, with two more on their way. We form a strong bond with the people we help to relocate, and so it’s incredibly satisfying every time we place someone.”
Miriam: “It has been a pleasure working with Sanctuary over the past nine months. I must say, they feel like an extension of our team, and the quality of candidates they’ve provided has been fantastic. We’re now at capacity within radiography, which is a great achievement in a short space of time.
“Now, we’re looking at other roles that are suitable for international recruitment, starting with mammography. As we speak, I’m reviewing a strong selection of international mammographer CVs that Vitor has sent to me.”
Find out more about our international offering or get in touch
