Celebrating Devon’s Global Workforce

On 24 April, over 70 healthcare leaders and diaspora health professionals gathered in Torquay to celebrate the global NHS workforce, spotlighting how internationally trained staff are transforming healthcare in Devon and overseas.

Hosted by the Devon Alliance for International Recruitment in partnership with Global Health Partnerships’ Experts in Our Midst programme, the event honoured the contribution of over 1,500 international healthcare professionals working across Devon’s NHS. These professionals, hailing from the Philippines, India, South Africa, and beyond, bring critical skills, insight, and lived experience to our health system every day.

Over the past four years, Devon has retained over 99.8% of its internationally recruited staff, proof that the Devon Alliance’s ethical and collaborative recruitment approach and exceptional pastoral care is a national benchmark which allows diaspora health workers to thrive.

Diaspora NHS staff are already driving global health engagement; mentoring, sharing expertise, and staying connected to health systems in their countries of heritage.

But this work is often invisible, informal, and unsupported.

At the event, participants identified three core truths:

• Global engagement is happening – through mentorship, knowledge-sharing, and international collaboration.
• Barriers persist – including lack of protected time, limited awareness of opportunities, and access to sponsorship or funding for work in health globally.
• The path forward is clear – NHS Trusts can act by:
• Recognising contributions to health globally
• Mapping diaspora expertise
• Embedding global health in onboarding, training, and progression
• Appointing diaspora champions

Throughout the day, we heard from diaspora NHS staff whose journeys show exactly what’s possible when global experience is recognised and nurtured:

• Charlene De Souza, Clinical Team Leader, South Western Ambulance Service
  Joined the NHS in 2022 from India and quickly progressed into leadership in the Emergency Operations Centre, drawing on emergency care experience from Dubai.
• Ed Hernaez, Advanced ENT Nurse, Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust
  From the Philippines, Ed brings decades of ENT expertise and champions the visibility of internationally trained staff as a leader in the Philippine Nurses Association UK.
• Elizabeth “Queen” Okesola, Community Mental Health Practitioner, Devon Partnership Trust
  With 23+ years’ experience across mental health and education, Queen is an NHS England INMA Fellow and a leading advocate for overseas nurses’ wellbeing and progression.

National leaders also joined the event to call for systemic change:

“When I came to the UK, I found myself navigating a system that didn’t see or hear me. MUNA was born during the pandemic, to give us collective voice and power. Charity Gladstone MBE, President, Malawian UK Nurses Association

“There’s no good patient experience without good staff experience. If we want our diaspora staff to thrive, we must support them into leadership.” Gifty Markey, Associate Chief Nursing Officer, North Bristol NHS Trust

Today, 1 in 5 NHS staff in England report a non-British nationality, yet their global expertise remains largely untapped in workforce planning and leadership.

The Devon Alliance for International Recruitment and Trusts across the Devon County are proving this can change.

With the right support, diaspora NHS staff can shape systems, improve care, and connect the NHS to the world.

How Can You Recognise the Experts in Your Midst?

Are you ready to follow Devon’s lead?

We’re calling on NHS leaders across the UK to act.

• Recognise diaspora leadership
• Create space for global engagement
• Celebrate the global talent already shaping your services

Celebrate the #ExpertsInOurMidst. Build a globally engaged NHS.

To learn more or partner with us, contact:
experts@thet.org