The first international pharmacists, recruited through a groundbreaking, collaborative, regional pilot project, have started work at a hospital in Norfolk. The NHS Workforce Alliance East of England team led the large-scale pilot involving three NHS trusts in the East of England in urgent need of pharmacists.
Alexandru Farcas from Romania and Ivanna Stakhiv from Portugal have joined the Pharmacy team at Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust (QEHKL) as Junior Pharmacists. Two more overseas pharmacists are expected to join them there before the summer. They were recruited through the Alliance Pharmacist International Recruitment Pilot (PIRP) using the Alliance International Recruitment framework.
Ceinwen Mannall, Chief Pharmacist, QEHKL, said:
“We are delighted to be working with Ivanna and Alex. They have integrated into our new junior pharmacist team and enabled us to build our dispensary and ward-based services.
“Previously we had not been able to recruit junior pharmacists which meant the trust relied on remote working pharmacists for clinical pharmacy service delivery.
“Ivanna and Alex joining the team means that we can deliver a person-centred service for patients and support the wider team in their care for patients. Ivanna and Alex bring excellent clinical skills, are willing to help team members and are a joy to work with.”
The PIRP project, headed by Katherine Moore, Alliance Strategic Workforce Procurement Lead and Matt Green, Alliance Workforce Procurement Specialist, has also seen four international pharmacists recruited for North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust and one at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust.
Due to the national shortage of pharmacists, the Alliance looked to work with the international market, engaging with specialist suppliers who had typically focused more on higher demand contingent labour categories like nursing and allied health professionals.
The recruitment process of international pharmacists in England is challenging due to the lack of a consistent pipeline and clinical qualification requirements.
The Alliance team provided ‘invaluable’ employer advice and practical support as well as pastoral support and guidance to reassure candidates throughout.
“By breaking down recruitment barriers, trusts were linked with specialist suppliers to deliver this much needed resource.
“The project delivered significant financial savings and efficiencies and improved the supply of high-calibre candidates.
“It facilitated the placement of international pharmacists in trusts, alleviating pressures that impact patient discharge,” said Katherine.
Matthew added: “We worked closely with suppliers NEU Professionals and Vitae Professionals to establish a clear requirement and pipeline of candidates from across the EU.”
Clare Rowden, International Recruitment Co-Ordinator QEHKL said: “The process for international pharmacist recruitment can be lengthy due to the qualifications and the GPHC process, however, I had monthly calls with the agencies to discuss any updates or concerns.
“I reached out to other trusts within the pilot to gain clarification on the creation of the Certificate of Sponsorships, to check for standardised wording etc.
“There was regular contact with Matt and Katherine for any support that I needed. As a trust we have never done specific international recruitment for Pharmacists, so it has been interesting to learn about how these new starters will support the trust, bringing all their skills and knowledge to the Pharmacy department to support the service.”
The PIRP project delivered significant financial savings and efficiencies and improved the supply of high-calibre candidates. It facilitated the placement of international pharmacists in trusts, alleviating pressures that impact patient discharge.
If this sort of project is something your trust would be interested in, please get in touch with your regional Alliance team or Get in touch via the Alliance website.