Two North West doctors who were also former asylum seekers are, during Refugee Week 2023 this week (19-25 June), marking the 20th anniversary of a unique NHS programme that changed their lives.

Former asylum seekers Dr Salih Suliman, originally from Eritrea, and Dr Ahmad Alomar, originally from Syria, are now both working in the NHS. Both doctors entered the healthcare economy having joined REACHE North West, a one-of-its-kind NHS programme that supports asylum seeker doctors and nurses to enter the NHS.

Dr Suliman joined REACHE in 2016 and is now with the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust as a Clinical Fellow.

“If you plan your journey it’s called a vacation. If you don’t plan it, it’s called an adventure, but if you don’t want it at all, it’s called seeking asylum. So, everything you do on that path is not what you wanted. Being an asylum seeker, then a refugee, then a citizen is like attending your own funeral a couple of times a year. It’s hard, it’s long and, most importantly, no one should go through it alone. Depression would become your only faithful friend and you might lose hope,” he said.

“Hope is like a tiny window where miracles are made. For me and my friends, REACHE was that window. With REACHE came a glimpse of hope and an unimaginable amount of support and guidance. English classes, clinical classes, tutors, volunteers and wonderful administrative staff. Personally speaking, joining REACHE was like opening that window. I do not think it’s a coincidence that Salford Royal Hospital, where REACHE is based, used to be called Hope Hospital. Through REACHE it is still giving hope to refugee healthcare professionals,” he added.

Dr Ahmad Alomar is a Foundation Year Two doctor in General Medicine at The Royal Oldham Hospital. Having qualified in Syria in 2005, Dr Alomar went on to specialise in radiology. On arrival in the UK as a refugee was placed in the North East. He heard about REACHE through a friend and uprooted his family again, to come to Manchester and join the programme.

“At the time, I was very down. I felt that maybe I’m not going to do it. I had spent one year without making progress in terms of English exams, in terms of everything to come back to my career. I felt maybe I have to find another career. I was thinking in this way, and then, when I heard about REACHE, the hope came back. What they are doing in REACHE, actually, it’s huge and they’re doing a great job. I think being a REACHE member gives you a great opportunity. It’s a great advantage for all refugee doctors making it much faster and easier and safer to work in the NHS,” said Dr Alomar, who is married with two daughters.

Speaking about the work that the programme does to help participants get used to British culture, he said: “REACHE worked hard to do trips, lunches a lot of social activities, because REACHE knows that these kinds of social activities strengthen the relationship between members, and secondly it introduces them more to the community and helps them get used to British culture as well.

“After that, I started attending the clinical sessions because at that time I had been five years without practising medicine so I needed to refresh my medical knowledge first. Secondly, we need to know about UK clinical practice in terms of ethics and the NHS system. We need to be introduced to this unique system before we start working.”

REACHE is the only programme of its kind that offers refugee and asylum seekers a way to complete registration with the General Medical Council (GMC) and the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

Participants are all qualified professionals, but need to retrain to work in the UK with the English requirement for UK registration being one of the major hurdles for people.

Dr Aisha Awan, Director of REACH North West, said: “This is the only UK programme to presently offer refugee and asylum seekers a complete pathway to registration with the GMC. We offer language support, pastoral care, outreach referrals and understanding cultural aspects of the UK.

“The success of this project can be gauged from the fact that since its inception, 237 REACHE doctors have gained substantive posts in the NHS and over 500 ex-members are now GPs, associate specialists or in non-substantive hospital posts, nurses or dentists in the NHS, saving the public purse £6.5 million.”

NHS Refugee Nurse Support Pilot Programme

NHS England also runs the NHS Refugee Nurse Support Pilot Programme which supports refugees who are qualified as nurses in their home country to resume their nursing careers in the NHS. The programme offers intensive languages skills support and a bespoke four-week course to help participants prepare to return to nursing and work in the NHS.

Participants are supported to secure NHS employment, initially in healthcare support worker roles, which they take up following the course and while they complete the necessary English Language assessments and NMC processes with the aim to become registered nurses in England.

Originally designed and planned to be delivered for the North West region alone, it is now an England-wide programme. The next cohort is to arrive at the end of June.