Our News

The journey of 22 Allied Health Professionals, who have moved from overseas to work in our hospitals in the past four months, was celebrated in an event held at Peterborough City Hospital.

The recruits, who work in services such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, radiography, or as operating theatre practitioners, were brought together to honour their progress since arriving in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough in January 2023.

Many of them spoke of the warm welcome they have been given by their new work colleagues which has helped them settled in to a new life and career.

They were joined by colleagues from North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Peterborough City, Hinchingbrooke and Stamford and Rutland Hospitals, who have been supporting them in their first six months. This included members of the recruitment, workforce, finance and practice education teams. Guest of honour was Rachel Wakefield, the Regional Chief Allied Health Professional for NHS East of England.

Jack Stevens, Deputy Chief Nurse, said: “Our support will continue as we encourage not only our new recruits, but our existing workforce, to take part in the Professional Advocacy Course for AHPs. Our Trust is one of the first in the country to offer our AHP colleagues this extended programme to help our staff further develop their resilience skills, which aligns with our Midwifery and Nursing workforce. This course develops skills in education and development, clinical supervision, evaluation and quality improvement.”

Raj Thirunageswaram, Assistant Director of Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) at the Trust, said: “We are incredibly proud to welcome our first cohort of international AHPs and it is truly uplifting to hear how they have enjoyed a great welcome from their new work family. Both our staff and our patients can enjoy the benefits of such a diverse workforce in our hospitals.

“I look forward to celebrating more milestones for our AHPs from overseas in the future.”