To ask the Minister of Health to detail any support mechanisms in place to assist internationally-recruited health and social care staff in adapting to the communication, cultural and clinical expectations of the health service in Northern Ireland.

International recruitment is a key avenue in addressing our workforce resource issues and ensuring that the health & social care service can deliver the safe and effective service for patients. The international recruits who arrive to work here across our HSC system provide an immensely valuable contribution to the delivery of health and social care services, let alone to our communities.

The provision of robust pastoral support and professional induction for international recruits across our HSC workforce is vitally important to ensure they are able to adapt to their arrival in a new country, workplace and community.

A regional HSC Working Group meet regularly to consider all aspects of the recruitment and retention of our international recruits, and this includes how best to assist them to settle within the workplace. Each HSC Trust has a dedicated resource who will support with social induction, pastoral care and professional training, including working with recruits on their communication skills, practicing using the telephone, role plays, and understanding local colloquialisms.

The HSC Clinical Education Centre runs Objective Structured Clinical Examination preparation programmes designed to support international recruits with clinical expectations whilst HSC Trusts maintain strong links with Professional Bodies and their international ‘Welcome’ programmes.

As well as helping our international recruits to understand our local cultures, the HSC Trusts support our locally trained workforce with cultural competency training, promoting open communication and celebrating the diversity of our international staff and creating an inclusive environment for all of our HSC workforce.