NHS England — International Diagnostic Radiography Recruitment Programme

The Challenge

NHS England faced a structural shortage of diagnostic radiographers across multiple regions. The NHS domestic training pipeline could not meet demand at pace, and international recruitment — conducted ethically and in full compliance with the UK Code of Practice for International Recruitment — represented the most viable route to closing the gap at scale.

The programme required a partner capable of operating across complex international markets, identifying viable source countries that complied with the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel, managing professional registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), and coordinating the full candidate journey from sourcing through to verified start date.

This is a narrower specialism than nursing or medicine. The global pool of qualified diagnostic radiographers who meet NHS standards, hold internationally recognised qualifications, and come from ethically permissible source countries is significantly smaller than many clients anticipate. Identifying it, accessing it and converting it requires specific market knowledge — not general healthcare recruitment experience.

Our Role

Staffbank was engaged by NHS England’s Directorate of Global Health Partnerships as a delivery partner for the DRAD Programme. Our scope encompassed the full recruitment lifecycle:

  • Source market identification and strategy — mapping viable international markets against WHO Code compliance, qualification equivalency with HCPC standards, English language proficiency, and realistic candidate volumes
  • International candidate sourcing and attraction across identified target markets
  • Screening and assessment to NHS and HCPC standards
  • Professional registration management with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), including qualification verification, English language assessment coordination and documentary preparation
  • Immigration and visa coordination
  • Onboarding and arrival support for candidates joining partner Trusts across the northwest, midlands and southeast of England

All activity was conducted in strict adherence with the UK Code of Practice (CoP) for International Recruitment and the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel. Source market selection was not an afterthought — it was a foundational step in programme design, carried out before a single candidate was approached.

Source Market Strategy — Knowledge That Cannot Be Improvised

Identifying where to recruit diagnostic radiographers internationally is not a straightforward exercise. The WHO Code designates certain countries as experiencing critical healthcare workforce shortages, from which active recruitment by NHS bodies and their partners is prohibited. Within the remaining permissible markets, qualification recognition varies significantly — not all radiography training programmes produce graduates whose credentials map cleanly onto HCPC registration requirements.

Staffbank’s approach drew on more than 30+ years of operational experience in international healthcare recruitment across the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, the GCC, and Canada — markets where radiography workforce dynamics, regulatory frameworks and professional registration pathways are well understood at a granular level.

Source markets were assessed against four criteria before any sourcing activity commenced:

  • WHO Code compliance — active recruitment only from countries not designated as critical shortage nations
  • Qualification equivalency — assessment of training standards against HCPC registration requirements
  • English language baseline — evaluation of candidate populations likely to meet OET or IELTS thresholds without excessive attrition
  • Realistic candidate volumes — avoiding markets with high apparent supply but low conversion rates due to competing destination countries or salary expectations

This structured approach to source market selection materially reduced pipeline attrition and accelerated time-to-registration compared with less targeted approaches.

Outcomes

Staffbank successfully sourced, processed and delivered more than 120 diagnostic radiographers to NHS partner Trusts across three regions — the northwest, midlands and southeast of England — with a further pipeline of candidates progressing through registration and mobilisation for direct NHS placement in subsequent phases.

In the words of the Programme Manager for Ethical Migratory Pathways at NHS England’s Directorate of Global Health Partnerships:

“Global Career Networks Ltd (now Staffbank) supported our efforts by providing market intelligence and recruitment services to our recruitment initiatives — most recently for the Diagnostic Radiography Programme. GCN sourced, processed, and recruited international candidates for the DRAD Programme, providing high quality candidates to our partner trusts in the northwest, midlands and southeast regions. Global Career Networks has proven itself as a valuable and ethical recruitment partner.”
— Johnathan Nicolson, Programme Manager – Ethical Migratory Pathways, Directorate of Global Health Partnerships, NHS England

Why It Matters

International allied health recruitment is more technically demanding than it is often given credit for. Diagnostic radiography sits within a relatively small global talent pool, gated by HCPC registration requirements that are precise, documentary-intensive and unforgiving of errors that extend timelines. Every delay in the registration process is a delay in clinical capacity — measured in unfilled lists, extended waiting times and clinical risk.

Staffbank’s leadership team has operated in international healthcare recruitment for over three decades, with direct working knowledge of registration pathways for international graduates across allied health, nursing and medicine. This programme was delivered by a team that understood not only how to find candidates, but which candidates — from which markets — could be taken successfully through to a verified start date efficiently and compliantly.

The combination of WHO Code expertise, source market intelligence, registration pathway knowledge and end-to-end delivery infrastructure is not available from generalist recruiters. It is the product of decades of operational experience, and it is what Staffbank brings to every international healthcare recruitment mandate it accepts.

Credentials Relevant to This Programme

  • Approved delivery partner to NHS England’s Directorate of Global Health Partnerships
  • Carter Wellington Global Recruitment Group (a Staffbank division) is an NHS framework-approved supplier
  • Founding signatory to the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel
  • Full compliance with the UK Code of Practice (CoP) for International Recruitment
  • 30+ years of operational experience across international healthcare workforce markets including the UK, GCC, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Canada
  • Detailed working knowledge of HCPC registration pathways for allied health professionals

Letter of recommendation held on file from Johnathan Nicolson, Programme Manager – Ethical Migratory Pathways, Directorate of Global Health Partnerships, NHS England.