Summary
Overseas-trained healthcare workers are reluctant to speak up about issues such as patient safety fearing it could lead to losing their right to work in the UK, according to our review published today.
Listening and learning: Amplifying the voices of overseas-trained workers, a review of the speaking up experiences of overseas-trained workers in England highlights the unique challenges faced by NHS workers trained outside the UK when speaking up.
Overseas-trained workers are a vital part of the NHS workforce. We conducted this review to shed light on their experience, looking at the specific issues faced by overseas-trained workers in speaking up. The report also highlighting examples of good practice.
The review finds that overseas-trained workers experience additional barriers to speaking up compared to domestically trained colleagues.
To make it easier for overseas-trained workers to speak up, we are calling for action to:
- Make recruitment and retention guidance support speaking up
- Design speaking up arrangements that work for everyone
- Use better data to understand and improve experiences
- Build cultural competence and awareness to remove barriers to speaking up.
Sam Bereket, National Lead for Intelligence and Learning at the National Guardian’s Office said: “Overseas-trained workers make a vital contribution to patient care. But too often, they face extra barriers to speaking up. If we want safer, more inclusive care, we must make sure every voice is heard. This review shows how leaders can take practical steps to make that happen.”
The report draws on what we heard directly from more than 850 overseas-trained workers and 150 Freedom to Speak Up guardians through interviews, surveys and focus groups.