Shortage Of Radiographers Leads To Overseas Recruitment Drive
The NHS has a shortage of radiographers and is now relying on recruitment posts overseas.
Currently, in Scotland, radiographers can earn £7000 less than the average wage for their profession.
NHS staff shortages are an issue across the UK and this crisis is just one example of financial difficulties facing the NHS - with more posts to come as it continues to prepare for Brexit.
It used to be that newly qualified radiographers could expect a salary of around £30 000 before tax and increased wages as they gained experience but that isn't always the case anymore.
We spoke to one young professional who works for a multinational company which is recruiting radiography, nuclear medicine and echocardiography staff for sites across the UK.
The company has been looking to increase the size of their UK recruitment team over the next three years and has noticed that there are many more job vacancies in Scotland than in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.
The company states that this is partly due to a lack of radiographers and as such it has been increasingly looking overseas.
To help address this shortage, NHS Scotland and the Radiological Society of Scotland have teamed up with Medicover International Ltd to provide opportunities for NHS radiographers who have previously worked abroad or those with experience working abroad.
Dr Paul Adams, a consultant radiologist from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, works with radiology groups in the UK every day and is often asked by colleagues about recruitment.
"NHS Scotland is seriously understaffed in the radiology rooms and has been for some time," he said.
"The problem is that the money just isn't there to pay the increasingly higher wage demands of staff wanting to work here."
He also noted that radiographers are often undervalued in comparison to other healthcare professionals and this can be concerning for NHS staff.
When asked if this was part of the issue with recruitment he replied: "There's quite a lot of talk about that but I don't know how much of it is true.
"We have a shortage of radiologists in Scotland but it's not exactly clear to me why this is."
Dr Adams also said that if radiographers are to change the system or make work more appealing they need to be given more responsibilities.
"There's another issue with recruitment, though," he added.
"Radiologists need to be able to take on extra responsibility in order for them to make their jobs more appealing because they're so underpaid and over-worked right now."
A job with the Medicover International Ltd may be a solution for these issues as the company is offering a competitive salary, generous bonus structures and training opportunities.
For more information about working with the company and the current opportunities available please contact them on 0131 553 8300 or email enquiries@medicover.com
http://www.medicover.com/careers/radiography-career-opportunities/
Title: Biggest Health Service Staff Shortage In Decades
SUMMARY:
Recruitment for nurses and other health professionals has been a major issue for the NHS in recent years, with trusts and hospitals across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland reporting staff shortages.
The NHS has been struggling to cope with a rising demand for healthcare and staffing shortages in the health service are estimated to cost about £500 million every year.
According to a recent survey, experienced nurses are being offered incentives of up to £10 000 per year in order for them to work in hospitals across England.
As of quite recently, there is a nursing vacancy rate of 8% countrywide, which is much higher than the government's target of 6.9% - meaning that around 37 000 nursing positions are currently unfilled.
One of the biggest problems regarding staff shortages in the NHS today is the fact that there aren't enough nurses, at all levels, to meet the growing demand for their services.
According to a report by Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), there will be a significant number of nursing vacancies nationwide between 2017 and 2020 - which means more than 80 000 more nursing positions will need to be filled.
This shows how fast-developing issues in the nursing profession are and what a vicious cycle this has become.
To provide some backup for these issues, many other healthcare professions are being recruited from abroad - including radiographers and speech therapists - because there simply aren't enough staff members in this country with sufficient experience.
The Health Foundation, an independent health think tank, has recently issued a report predicting the continuing shortage of healthcare professionals in the NHS in England.
The report states that there will be a 25 000 shortfall in nurses and a 10 000 shortfall in paramedics by 2020.
The report also states that the NHS staff shortage is affecting patient care in many different ways, including canceled operations and long waiting times.
In order to address this problem, Health Education England (HEE), the NHS's workforce planning agency, has launched graduate-led accelerated training schemes for ambulance paramedics and intensive care paramedics.
The training programmes, which will run for three years and have started in recent months, are a revolutionary way of shortening the required training time for students and making it easier to recruit the numbers required by the NHS.
This news may be welcome to many paramedics who have been working hard to complete their degrees, waiting for the call that they can start their career in this fast-paced and challenging environment.
http://www.medicalrecruiterplus.co.uk/Recruitment-Tips/News/Biggest-Staff-Shortage-Decades.html
Title: NHS is facing nursing shortage as dozens of senior nurses leave because they can't afford to retire
SUMMARY:
NHS staff shortages are being felt across all areas, with more than three quarters of trusts reporting that they have staffing problems.
More than a quarter of trusts across England and Northern Ireland are telling NHS Employers that there are currently no target posts for nurses, who have been told that they must either reduce their working hours or take early retirement.
The Daily Mail reports that the personnel shortages are affecting all areas of the health service and do not appear to be going away any time soon.
They cite one trusts report, which said that more than 4,700 nurses had left the health service since October 2014.
The trust has said that it has been hit by a general staff shortage and this is having an impact on its winter staffing levels. It noted that it does not currently have the staff to recruit or keep its existing staff.
While many nurses are opting for early retirement schemes because of the financial problems they are facing, others are taking early retirement packages because they can't afford to work for any longer.
Problems with staffing in England's hospitals were highlighted earlier this year by nursing leaders who said that around 4% of NHS posts were at risk of being lost permanently.
Conclusion:
The NHS indeed has a serious problem attracting enough skilled medical staff. The NHS is facing the biggest ever shortage of nurses in its history, with no signs that it may get any better in the near future. Nearly every hospital in England is having to put up with a huge nurse shortage and it is going to become even more problematic as many experienced nurses are choosing to work abroad or retire early because they can't afford to continue working at the moment. Many hospitals have not been able to recruit new staff from abroad, as EU nationals are feeling unsure about their position in the UK after Brexit.