NHS workforce challenges and NOA member experiences of orthopaedic recovery were the focus of the first NOA webinar for 2022, ‘COVID Orthopaedic Recovery: National and International Recruitment’. The session which had over 40 attendees, featured three speakers from NOA member organisations including The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS FT (ROH), The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS FT (RJAH) and Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospital NHS FT (GSTT).
NOA Webinar Lead and Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at RJAH, Cormac Kelly, chaired the session. He opened with an overview of the COVID recovery situation nationally and emphasised that international recruitment must be part of the agenda moving forward to address staffing – one of the biggest issues impeding orthopaedic surgery recovery.
Speakers included Nikki Brockie, Deputy Chief Nurse at ROH. Nikki shared how international recruitment is progressing across the Birmingham and Solihull ICS including the ROH. She looked at the ICS’s system approach to addressing the elective backlog.
Connor Hodgetts, Superintendent Radiographer, Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust shared the process, successes, and challenges of overseas recruitment of radiographers during COVID.
The final speaker was Sue Cox, Deputy Director of Nursing- Workforce and Education from GSTT. Sue explained the key drivers and benefits for progressing with international recruitment at the Trust including the support from agencies and the CapitalNurse Consortium, OSCE training, ethically recruiting, MDT and HR support, clinical engagement, pastoral support and the supernumerary period.
The session which was described by one attendee as ‘very relevant and useful’ can be viewed in full here.
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