A shortage of crucial medical staff has seen an increase in the recruitment of radiography staff from abroad.
The health sector seems to have consistent and sustained issues with
staffing levels with increasing movement towards the private sector,
the recruitment of specialist staff to both public and private sector
appears to be increasingly difficult. There is an acknowledged shortage
of radiographers within the UK and the NHS has gone on a drive to
encourage more radiography professionals within the health service.
This shortage has seen the importation of radiography professionals
from abroad, notably from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and
Ireland in an attempt to plug the skills gap in both the private sector
and the NHS. This shortage has been exploited by the commercial sector
in an attempt to aid the governments drive to recruit skilled staff to
these sectors. The rise of specialist recruitment agencies such as RIG
Radiography Recruit specifically targets this apparent gap in the
employment sector to fill the radiography job vacancies in both the
public and private sectors. Interestingly, this site and others like
it, look both within the UK and abroad in its attempts to encourage
qualified radiography professionals to enter the UK health sector.
The shortage of radiography jobs is felt not only in the UK, but
worldwide. A US study reveals similar shortages in crucial healthcare
specialists demonstrating a wider problem with radiography recruitment.
Whilst the contribution of specialist radiography recruitment sites
contributes to alleviating the shortfall of radiographers, there
appears to be a systemic issue in Western nations in filling the empty
radiography jobs.
