Surge in overseas recruitment

December 22, 2015 Leave a comment

Ambulance services within the UK are increasingly looking overseas to recruit staff as a result of a nationwide shortage of paramedics. The need for the drive has been brought on, in part, following the recommendation for paramedics to be added to the shortage occupation list for the first time (Migratory Advisory Committee, 2015). Significant increases in demand for ambulances in the UK following the shift in focus to treat people at home rather than in A&E; high staff attrition due to work pressures and stress brought on by longer working hours; and growing opportunities for paramedics to take on roles in alternative areas, have all contributed to the shortage.

While only one paramedic was recruited from overseas from 2013–2014, 183 have already been recruited from 2014–2015, with additional recruitment planned for the rest of the year (Renaud-Komiya and Calkin, 2015). Many of the staff now employed by the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust (LAS) have come over from Australia and New Zealand, where paramedics share a similar skillset with the UK. There is also the added benefit of a mutual language. Conversely, South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust has turned to Poland to help combat their shortage of paramedics. The assessment process within the LAS involves completing a clinical paper, a lifting assessment, and a practical assessment on advanced life support, as well as an oral interview.

However, it is worth noting that the migration of healthcare workers brings with it ethical issues, as services abroad may suffer as a result of their own falling numbers (Peate, 2014). An article in the Herald Sun referred to the ‘aggressive’ campaign being undertaken by LAS as an attempt to ‘poach’ Victorian paramedics (Van den Berg, 2014).

The UK is not alone in looking overseas for recruitment. Many paramedics who trained in the UK now work in countries such as Australia or the United Arab Emirates. However, the extent at which paramedics from other countries are being targeted for recruitment is certainly an anomaly within the UK. While it certainly offers a short-term solution for the current shortage ‘crisis’, it is questionable whether it presents a real answer to the problem. It is undoubted that national investment is needed in the paramedic profession.

That being said, the positives of overseas recruitment shouldn’t be overlooked. Working abroad, even if only temporarily, offers opportunities for intercultural awareness and the development of global perspectives of issues, as well as an insight into alternative pathways of care, service provision and paramedic practice to one’s own country.

References

Migratory Advisory Committee (2015) Partial review of the Shortage Occupation Lists for the UK and Scotland. MAC, London. http://tinyurl.com/qdaqbbl (accessed 26 March 2015)

Peate I (2014) Ethical recruitment and employment of internationally educated paramedics. Journal of Paramedic Practice 6(10): 500–501. doi: 10.12968/jpar.2014.6.10.500

Renaud-Komiya N, Calkin S (2015) Trusts forced to look overseas to plug paramedic gaps. HSJ. http://tinyurl.com/pqeo4k5 (accessed 27 March 2015)

Van den Berg L (2014) London in bid to lure Victorian paramedics. Herald Sun. http:// http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/londonin- bid-to-lure-victorian-paramedics/storyfni0fit3- 1227011369042 (accessed 17 September 2014)

Taken from International Paramedic Practice, published 8 April 2015.

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Tackling the shortage of paramedics

December 22, 2015 Leave a comment

February marked the first time that paramedics were recommended for addition to the shortage occupation list (SOL), with vacancy rates running at approximately 10% of the total 12 500 paramedic workforce in England (Migratory Advisory Committee, 2015).

Using evidence received from the Centre for Workforce Intelligence, the Migratory Advisory Committee have identified a number of factors driving the shortage. These include: significant increases in demand for ambulances as a result of the shift in focus to treat people at home rather than in A&E; high staff attrition due to work pressures and stress brought on by longer working hours; and growing opportunities for paramedics to take on roles in alternative areas such as the 111 service, GP practices and walk-in centres.

In an attempt to combat the shortage, ambulance services have been forced to introduce a number of initiatives. Many have looked overseas to fill the gap in the workforce, as retraining a healthcare professional to meet Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) standards usually only requires a short conversion course. This is particularly true for countries such as Australia and New Zealand, where the skills and training are similar to the UK. While only one paramedic was recruited from overseas from 2013–2014, 183 have already been recruited from 2014–2015, with further recruitment planned (Renaud-Komiya and Calkin, 2015). However, it is worth noting that the migration of healthcare workers brings with it ethical issues, as services abroad may suffer as a result of their own falling numbers (Peate, 2014).

Increasing the number of student paramedics will help to secure future generations of the workforce; however, it does not tackle the problem now, and does not help deter those paramedics who are already considering leaving the profession. Not only this, but higher education institutions (HEIs) are limited by the number of places they can offer. The shift of training in 2009 from in-house ambulance service training to a mix of degree, diploma, and foundation degree courses, has had a considerable impact on the profession. What is really needed, therefore, is a national funding scheme for the training of paramedics (Barnes, 2015). If national investment was made in paramedics then HEIs would be able to take in bigger cohorts as more places would be funded. Health Education England (HEE) has pledged to increase the number of paramedic training places by 87% over the next two years, but these additional commissions will not produce qualified paramedics until 2016/17 (HEE, 2015). Growth to the paramedic workforce is essential; however, the rapid level of increased demand from ambulance services means that shorter term supply solutions must be found if growing vacancy rates are not to deteriorate further until this newly trained supply becomes available.

References

Barnes S (2015) National fund needed to address paramedic shortage, says ambulance chief. HSJ. http://tinyurl.com/q2z8wez (accessed 27 March 2015)

Health Eucation England (2015) Workforce Plan for England: Proposed Education and Training Commissions for 2015/16. HEE, Leeds

Migration Advisory Committee (2015) Partial review of the Shortage Occupation Lists for the UK and for Scotland. MAC, London. http://tinyurl.com/qdaqbbl (accessed 26 March 2015)

Peate I (2014) Ethical recruitment and employment of internationally educated paramedics. Journal of Paramedic Practice 6(10): 500–501. doi: 10.12968/jpar.2014.6.10.500

Renaud-Komiya N, Calkin S (2015) Trusts forced to look overseas to plug paramedic gaps. HSJ. http://tinyurl.com/pqeo4k5 (accessed 27 March 2015)

Taken from Journal of Paramedic Practice, published 3 April 2015.

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A Walk to Remember

February 1, 2012 Leave a comment

Photo Credit: Melanie Sangwine

On a cold January morning in Edinburgh, when most people are tucked up in bed, the sun begins to rise, illuminating the castle and gently melting the frost. Towards the esplanade, a small group huddled around one man begin a countdown.

As they reach zero, a faint cheer is heard and a bearded figure emerges wheeling a buggy piled high with equipment. The man’s name is James Thomas and he has just begun a walk from Edinburgh to New Zealand.

On a trip that will cover 12,500 miles, through 15 countries and take him two years to complete, he will be crossing hostile territories, Indonesian rainforests and the Australian desert to reach the antipodal point of Edinburgh, Dunedin. With no support team, he is carrying all the equipment he needs himself and intends to spend his long nights camping, couch surfing and staying with friends where possible.

Originally from West Cork in Ireland, Thomas has been living in Edinburgh for the last five years whilst studying film and photography at Edinburgh Napier University. Having graduated last year, he notes, “I was struggling to find work in film and photography so I decided to fulfil this thing I’ve always wanted to do.”

Aiming to walk 130 miles a week- a distance which equates to roughly five marathons- it is undeniable that this will be a very demanding challenge.

However, Thomas remains admirably optimistic, he comments, “I don’t think it is going to be too bad physically. There are people who do physical labour, working on building sites every day and doing much harder things than what I’m doing. I’m just walking.” Already a keen rambler, he has experience trekking in the Annapurna and a couple of months ago made the trip from Inverness to Fort William in preparation for his expedition.

Ultimately, this is not simply a personal endeavour but an effort to raise funds for children’s charity UNICEF. On choosing the organisation, he says, “It’s a very international challenge so I wanted to support an international charity. I wanted a charity that no matter where I went people knew what it was for.”

He has high hopes, with aims of raising £1,000,000 over the course of the trip. But, as he rightly points out, “If David Walliams can get it for swimming the channel, surely I can get it for walking around the world.”

The motivation behind his adventure appears ambiguous. “It changes every day. Most recent is I just turned 30 so I’m saying to myself this is the last chance I can go out and do something as I’m not getting any younger. I’ve always wanted to do this. Travelling to the antipodal point has always been the thing.”

With a keen desire to have something to show for himself, it is apparent that for Thomas this is a very personal ordeal. When asked how he thinks it will affect him as a person, he contemplates for a second before answering, “It is inevitable that it will change me somewhat but I don’t know yet whether it will change me for the better or for the worse.” As the interview draws to a close, we come to a stop and I thank him for his time, already glad that in a few minutes I will be inside and beginning to get warm after what was a bitterly cold morning. However, for Thomas, this is only the beginning, and as I bid him farewell, he turns and begins to walk the long road, alone.

For more information, or to sponsor James, you can visit his website here.

Taken from The Student, published Tue Jan 31st 2012.

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