ReSTORE stands for:
Refugee Support, Training, Orientation, Recruitment and Education for healthcare professionals who are refugees living in South Yorkshire.
ReSTORE was established in April 2023 as a structured programme for ‘refugees with nursing and midwifery background’ in their country of origin to become nurses and nurse associates’.
ReSTORE was expanded to include Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) in April 2025.
Based in South Yorkshire, ReSTORE is run by the South Yorkshire Primary Care and Workforce Training Hub (SYPCWTH).
11 participants have now graduated from the first and second cohorts, and 8 participants are currently undertaking their clinical exams, aiming to complete the requirements by early next year.
The Programme is led by Nurse Lead, Blerta Ilazi, and AHP Lead, Sarah Withers.
Through Blerta’s lived experiences of going through the system herself, she was inspired to establish a programme for other refugees with a nursing background to join the register of their profession, providing a helping hand in navigating this long and complicated journey.
ReSTORE was established because:
All healthcare professionals will undertake training for an Occupational English Test (OET). Nurses will also undertake a Computer Based Test (CBT) and Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE). AHPs will undertake a range of training suitable for their profession.
A combination of this training and development, alongside working in healthcare support worker roles, should prepare our healthcare professionals for careers in the NHS.
ReSTORE provides pastoral support and liaises with local hospitals and the voluntary sector in South Yorkshire, as well as the Refugee Council and local Job Centres, to offer this structured support.
It may take around one year to pass the required exams and to join the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register or the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
Refugees who worked as nurses or Allied Health Professionals before coming to the UK. You must have refugee status or be a spouse of a refugee. You must have evidence of your healthcare qualification that is equivalent to a UK healthcare professional qualification, as per the NMC/HCPC requirements.
It may take a year, minimum.
We have a flexible referral and application process, please email to engage with us and arrange an initial interview.
ReSTORE has strong links to Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospital Trust, The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust Barnsley NHS Trust, and Huddersfield NHS Trust.
Refugee Healthcare Professionals’ Training – BMJ Rapid Response written by Blerta Ilazi, Advanced Nurse Practitioner, South Yorkshire Primary Care Workforce and Training Hub. Published 14.03.25
