Just Recieved Your A-Level Results? Join the NHS!

The NHS has worked with universities to offer more than 7,000 extra nursing places in higher education from this September, as part of the NHS Long Term Plan to build a workforce for the future of the health service and supported by its successful ‘We are the NHS recruitment campaign’

 

The NHS is one of the top ten employers in the world, offering around 350 roles, employing more than 1.3 million people, and caring for around one million patients every day. Whittington Health employs around 4,500 staff in roles as diverse as Ward Pharmacist to Workforce information Assistant, Estates Manager to Emergency Care Practitioner and District Nurse to Dietician.

 

Tens of thousands of students will call the UCAS clearing line over the next few days to secure a place at a different university to the one they originally chose and in some cases, will change career paths. Whittington Health is urging people at a crossroads to join the health service. 

Siobhan Harrington, Chief Executive of Whittington Health NHS Trust said:
“I started my NHS career when I finished my A-Levels, training as a degree-level nurse. I have been lucky enough to have an amazing career working for local, regional and national NHS organisations and am now CEO of a trust that employs 4,500 people and treats 500,000 patients each year.

 

“As a parent I was so proud when one of my children told me they wanted to join the NHS. There are so many varied career options but at the heart of them all is a shared commitment to working together for patients, compassion and a commitment to quality care which makes every role hugely rewarding.”

Jane Clegg, NHS London region joint chief nurse at NHS England and NHS Improvement, said:
“My grandmother was a nurse and my father a doctor, so you could say I had good role models! Nursing is an immensely fulfilling career where every day will excite and challenge as you truly make a difference to the lives of people in need.

 

“Whether you’re receiving your exam results today - perhaps they were not what you expected - or you’re considering a change of career; the NHS in London offers a range of exciting roles where you will be truly welcome.”

 

The call on students to pick a career in the NHS comes as the NHS launches the next stage of the ‘We are the NHS campaign’ - the largest ever jobs drive of its kind, helping to bring in a workforce to support delivery of Long Term Plan commitments like speeding up diagnosis of killer conditions, expanding world class mental health services and introducing cutting edge treatments like proton beam therapy for cancer.

Launching last year, the campaign has resulted in a 4.5% increase in nursing applications, including a 9% rise in male nursing applicants as well as the number of 18 year olds applying going up by a fifth.

Nikki Kanani, acting director of primary care for the NHS said:
“Joining the NHS was the best career decision I ever made and every single day being part of this amazing community that makes incredible things happen gives me a sense of pride I couldn’t get working anywhere else.

 

“To all students considering their options I say this, the NHS is ready to welcome you into our community with open arms.”

 

The health service is also running programmes focussed on developing Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) staff and getting them into senior leadership positions, helping make sure that the NHS is increasingly representative of the wider community.