Supporting NHS England's Fragile Professions Workforce:
The CDC Sonography Programme
Background and requirements
The NHS Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) programme was established to expand diagnostic capacity across England, bringing care closer to home and reducing pressure on acute hospital settings. A critical component of this ambition is securing a resilient, high-quality workforce across a range of Allied Health Professions, many of which are classified as fragile professions due to chronic national shortages.
Sonography is among the most acutely affected of these fragile professions. The NHS faced a position where an existing non-specialist recruitment partner had been unable to meet the programme's workforce requirements, leaving CDCs understaffed and diagnostic capacity unrealised.
NHS England required a specialist partner with the reach, clinical credibility, and delivery infrastructure to fill these gaps rapidly, and to do so to the highest standard.
Our Approach
Globe Workforce Solutions (GWS) was engaged to support the NHS England CDC programme with a focus on permanent Sonography placements, including candidates with obstetric, gynaecological, general and MSK scanning experience.
GWS brought to bear its unrivalled national and international candidate database, recognised as the number one Allied Health Professional (AHP) database in the UK, alongside a clinically led recruitment model built on integrity, thoroughness, and candidate care.
Results & Impact
Despite compressed timeframes, including the festive and New Year period, and the inherent challenges of coordinating with NHS Trusts to arrange interviews, GWS delivered measurable, high-quality outcomes within two months of engagement:
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8 clinically approved CVs submitted and approved by the NHSE team
6 candidates progressed to interview and offer stage
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First offer made
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First international candidate deployed and in post in the UK at the end of Month 2
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Positive feedback from CDC National Lead and NHS England senior stakeholders
The Head of Community Diagnostic Centres at NHS England (National) acknowledged the quality and standard of GWS candidate submissions, noting that had GWS been engaged at the outset of the programme rather than the initial non-specialist agency, the original workforce requirement would likely have been fully met.
What Made the Difference?
Clinically led process: Every submission is underpinned by comprehensive pre-screening, clinical competency checks using GWS-designed assessment forms, and active expectation management.
Dedicated account management: A dedicated Account Manager oversaw the full candidate journey from initial approach through to deployment, maintaining close liaison with NHS England stakeholders throughout.
Unrivalled international pipeline: Years of established relationships across Australia, New Zealand, Canada and beyond mean our team can access and mobilise international talent that others simply cannot reach.
Domestic depth: Alongside the international pipeline, GWS holds a robust database of UK-trained AHPs across the NHS and private sector, enabling a comprehensive domestic and international offer.
HEALTHCHECK: Our proprietary real-time candidate rating system provides performance transparency, workforce optimisation, and clinical risk reduction, giving NHS clients confidence in every placement.
Get in Touch
For further details or a provisional conversation please contact the team