International Recruitment of GPs

The General Practice Forward View, published in April 2016, sets out a commitment to deliver a major international recruitment drive to attract 500 appropriately trained and qualified GPs from overseas over the next five years.

NHS England is seeking to undertake a market engagement exercise to explore the feasibility of using recruitment companies to support local teams in successfully attracting suitable candidates from overseas.

The international recruitment project must deliver a process which: a. ensures that GPs are clinically competent; b. ensures that GPs have English language skills at a high enough level to deliver the role; c. allows GPs to be recruited from within and outside the EU; d. ensures a high level of retention following successful employment of GPs.

This will include cultural and pastoral support as well as mental health support; e. encourages the recruitment of international GPs into areas where they are most needed.

Following this feasibility phase NHS England may choose to take forward a procurement.

We are keen to run a workshop with providers of recruitment services and would be particularly interested in companies that have experience of successfully recruiting GPs from overseas.

The workshop will be held on 17 November 2016 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England.

The precise location will be confirmed via NHS England's Bravosolution portal.

Interested organisations are encouraged to register their interest via NHS England’s eSourcing portal.

Instructions for registering are as follows: a) Find the eSourcing Portal at the following link: https://nhsengland.bravosolution.co.uk b) Click, View current opportunities and register with the site. c) Express an interest in the project PQQ_15 - International Recruitment of GPs Market Engagement, tender_380 (it should be noted that this is NOT the actual PQQ stage of the procurement.

It is a market engagement exercise.

System limitations mean that the label states ‘PQQ' but the opportunity is not yet live.

You will be notified if the tender goes live). d) Once registered you will receive more information about the project and the market engagement event to be held in Leeds on 17 November 2016.