Volunteer to Career in healthcare for Refugees
This programme, funded by the Rayne Foundation, helps healthcare organisations create a volunteering pathway for medically qualified refugees to potentially join the healthcare workforce. It currently operates at Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust, Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust, Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, and Aneurin Bevan University Health Board. It is part of Helpforce's wider Volunteer to Career scheme which helps people from all walks of life – regardless of professional background – explore NHS jobs through volunteering.
Why is Helpforce running this programme?
An estimated 2,000 refugee doctors are currently living in the UK, along with many more refugee nurses, midwives, psychiatrists and allied health professionals. Yet despite being legally entitled to work, many struggle to return to the professions they have spent years building.
This comes as the NHS continues to face persistent staffing shortages, with around 7,500 doctor vacancies and 21,600 unfilled nursing roles in England, contributing to mounting pressures on services and long waiting times for patients.
For healthcare professionals who have fled conflict, violence or persecution, returning to clinical practice in the UK can involve years out of work while asylum claims are processed, followed by further barriers including language, qualification recognition, regulatory registration and adapting to NHS systems.
Now, backed by NHS Employers, Breaking Barriers and the Ukrainian Medical Charity, we are calling for greater investment in practical routes that help refugee medics re-establish careers.
Our call is backed by:
Volunteering helped me realise that I still wanted to work with children. It confirmed that paediatrics is where my passion remains.
It costs around £900 to support a medically qualified refugee through Volunteer to Career. By comparison, the NHS can spend hundreds of thousands of pounds annually covering a single long-term vacancy with agency locums.
What our supporters say
"Refugees bring resilience, dedication and valuable skills to the NHS workforce. Programmes like Volunteer to Career for Refugees help people rebuild their lives through meaningful employment while giving NHS organisations access to talented individuals who can strengthen teams and enrich patient care."
Ben Morrin, Chief Executive of NHS Employer.
“This is not simply about supporting refugees. It is about ensuring the NHS does not overlook a highly skilled workforce that is ready to contribute and strengthen patient care.”
Oksana Lovochkina, Chief Executive of the Ukrainian Medical Charity
“We have held several recruitment fairs for refugees and asylum-seekers. These individuals are a valuable part of our community. Offering volunteering routes into employment is mutually beneficial as we are developing talented people while broadening the diversity of our workforce.”
Maria O’Brien, Chief Executive of West London NHS Trust
Support for refugees:
NHS Employers, in partnership with Ryalto, has launched a new digital app designed to help refugees and displaced talent explore and access employment opportunities across the NHS.
The app helps individuals:
- Explore NHS careers across entry-level, nursing and AHP, and doctor/dentist pathways
- Connect with live vacancies across the NHS
- Access training, language support, and registration guidance via trusted partner organisations.
For employers, the app:
- Increases visibility of NHS opportunities
- Strengthens local recruitment pipelines
- Connects candidates to wraparound support and pathways into roles.
Search "Ryalto" (workforce app) on the Apple App Store or Google Play.
Refugees are encouraged to visit Recruiting refugees | NHS Employers for more information about the support available.
Olena's story
Olena Ipek’s journey from fleeing war in Ukraine to preparing for a new career in the NHS is a powerful example of how volunteering can transform lives and help address critical workforce challenges in healthcare.
Before the conflict, Olena was a paediatrician working across hospitals and community clinics around Kyiv. But as reports of escalating Russian troop movements grew in 2021, she and her husband made the heart-wrenching decision to leave their home. “It was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made,” Olena recalls. “My family was there. My life was there.”
Ahmed's story
A skilled sonographer who left Sudan amid political unrest and personal tragedy, Ahmed’s journey reflects the vital role that volunteering programmes like Helpforce’s Volunteer to Career for Refugees can play in rebuilding lives and supporting the NHS.
Before arriving in the UK, Ahmed was already developing a promising healthcare career in Sudan. Political instability forced him to seek safety and opportunity abroad, first moving to Saudi Arabia where he advanced his clinical skills and earned a Master's Degree in Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound. Despite the challenges of separation from his family, Ahmed remained determined to create a safer future.
Yana's story
Before the war in Ukraine, Yana Fylenko had built a stable life as a GP in Kharkiv. She was advancing her clinical career, teaching medical students, and enjoying family life with her husband Vitalii and daughter Zlata. But everything changed overnight in February 2022 when the Russian invasion began.
Faced with sudden danger, Yana and her family fled Kharkiv in a journey that took over 16 hours instead of two. They hoped the conflict would end quickly, but as conditions worsened through the winter - without heating, electricity, or internet - Yana made the difficult decision to leave Ukraine for the UK with her daughter, while Vitalii stayed behind due to conscription rules.
