Reflecting on five years of international recruitment in Lincolnshire
Over the past five years, International Recruitment Lead, Claire Dobbs, has enjoyed success in recruiting international healthcare professionals for several teams across the NHS.
As Claire takes a short break before moving into another role, we catch up with her to reflect on the many highlights, heart-warming stories and successes we’ve shared in the five years of working together.
Claire, let’s rewind a bit. How did you first meet Sanctuary?
“It’s a while ago now but I first started working with Sanctuary at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (ULHT) in 2019. At the time, international allied health recruitment was new to ULHT, and to me. However, staff shortages in radiography were particularly acute and we needed to find suitably qualified, permanent staff. Out of all the agencies we sought support from, Sanctuary delivered the best service. They quickly provided us with a good number of experienced international radiographers to choose from and were fantastic at keeping us updated. Most importantly, they were keen to share their knowledge and insights on international recruitment, which as a recruitment lead, I found invaluable.
“International recruitment is far from easy. There can be setbacks, but it’s how Sanctuary deals with those challenges that makes a difference. They are very quick to sort things and genuinely care about every candidate.”
Could you tell us more about your continued relationship with Sanctuary?
“When I moved over to recruit international nurses at ULHT in February 2020, which again, was completely new, Sanctuary provided an enormous amount of support. Paul and Keith from Sanctuary met with me to help set up the international nursing recruitment process. Their knowledge on what would work and how we could support one another to make the process run smoothly was great.
“I remember it being an incredibly challenging time as just before we were due to welcome our first international nurses, the country went into a Covid-19 lockdown.
“The pandemic took the recruitment of international nurses to an entirely different level. On top of all day-to-day activities, we were in close contact with applicants to keep them updated on the pandemic, which at the time, was a fast moving picture. We persevered though, and within 6 months of continued engagement by both myself and the team at Sanctuary, we welcomed our first international nurses.
“In February 2021, I commenced work at Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and in June 2021 was successfully appointed to a secondment role as the International Recruitment Lead post. This introduced me to the mental health profession where I was able to use my skills, knowledge and experience of international recruit within the mental health space.
“It was important from the outset that to be successful in my role I would need an experienced recruitment partner that I knew would deliver. There was no hesitation, Sanctuary was the right partner.”
How has Sanctuary supported you in your current role?
“I know Sanctuary is good at what they do, but I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised by how successful the recruitment of international RMNs has been.
“I remember Keith at Sanctuary saying to me that it will be a challenge to find Registered Mental Health Nurses, but I’ve got to say, now we have successfully appointed over 30 international mental health nurses, I could not be prouder of what we have achieved.
“It’s been a successful collaboration. Internally, we’ve also expanded our onboarding team to include administrative support and two clinical educators who provide wellbeing support and an internal mental health OSCE training programme for international staff. I am proud to be leaving the trust with a strong international resourcing team and Sanctuary has played a part in this.”
What recruitment memories will stay with you?
“Given the nature of international recruitment, you really get to know the people who you place. I have consultants, radiographers, nurses, occupational therapists and clinical psychologists who remain in contact with me long after their placement.
“You build a strong connection with people. I’ll never forget the moment when my dad was in hospital with sepsis in 2021. He was very poorly and receiving acute care. One of the nurses looking after him recognised me and came over to say hello. This alone gave me a great sense of comfort – it was a very heart-warming moment and thankfully my dad went on to make a full recovery.
“It’s all the little details that I hold dear. I remember Sanctuary telling me that one nurse on her way over was feeling very anxious about moving away from her family. To help her feel settled and ‘at home’ when she arrived, I made her a hamper full of things I knew she’d love (some essentials, a few sweet treats and some hot chocolate) and bought her a floral duvet cover, which she loved.
“It’s this level of care that I find personally fulfilling.”
In your view, where does Sanctuary excel in international recruitment?
“Sanctuary are always available, knowledgeable and very responsive – all key skills in international resourcing.
“The team is very professional, yet relatable and down-to-earth. There’s complete transparency and a genuine commitment to building a good working relationship. Plus, they really care about the people they place. When I made the chocolate hamper, the first thing I did was take a picture of it and send it to Sanctuary’s Keith, who messaged me back to say, “you always go above and beyond.”
“There’s a real sense of togetherness in the way they support their clients. I couldn’t have made the positive impact that I’ve been able to without Sanctuary, and vice-versa.”
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