An army of 10,000 new NHS heroes
COVID-19 has inspired an army of 10,000 to sign up as NHS healthcare support workers.
Hospitals across Britain have been boosted by the arrival of the recruits, all of whom have joined since the start of 2021.
Prerana Issar, chief people officer, said: “Throughout the past year the world has watched as our inspirational NHS staff have come together in the fight against coronavirus, treating tens of thousands of patients and delivering the biggest vaccination programme in history.
“The increase in those wanting to join the NHS is in no doubt related to this Nightingale Effect of the pandemic.”
Healthcare support workers are paid around £19,000 per annum, and provide a critical role.
Their job is to ease the pressure on overstretched front-line doctors, nurses and midwives by performing health checks.
They also update patient records, help patients wash, dress and move around, and care for women and families in maternity services.
The assistants support people with mental health conditions, learning disabilities, and autism too.
There are around 150,000 working in the health service and in a bid to further bolster the workforce, the NHS invested £45million to recruit more.
As of yesterday, 10,028 had started work in the past three months after being inspired by the extraordinary efforts of the NHS during the greatest crisis in its history.
A further 4,494 will join the NHS when their pre-employment checks are complete.
Sophie Morgan ran a dance school but decided to change career when the pandemic struck.
She is now working as an maternity care assistant in antenatal clinics at Gloucestershire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
She started her apprenticeship in September last year – the same time as her four-year-old daughter Libby started school.
Sophie said: “Libby is so proud. When I walk her to school and hear her tell her friends about what her mummy does it’s magical.”
The NHS is Europe’s biggest employer and since the Covid crisis, which has shone a light on the selfless devotion of its staff, there has been a rush of people point of use for everyone, has there been such a demand to work for it.
The incredible interest at all levels is equal to around four people applying for every available post.
Yusuf Yousuf was a hospital porter for a decade but now works as a theatre support worker at Whittington Hospital, in north London, after being inspired by the nurses and healthcare staff he saw every day.
He said: “I wanted to be more hands-on with patient care and I knew from being a porter I’d have some transferable skills, like being able to talk to and look after people.
“As a healthcare support worker you’re an integral part of the care team and it’s such an interesting role. I love every minute.”
The NHS is home to 1.2 million staff from 211 countries and territories,
Diverse
making it the most workforce in the world.
One fifth of them are from outside the UK. More than 67,000 are nationals of EU countries while around 64,000 staff are Asian nationals.
There is no greater example of the incredible diversity than in hospitals where 14 per cent of doctors and nine per cent of nurses report an Asian nationality. Two thirds of doctors gained their medical qualification outside the UK. More than half qualified in Asia. At 28 English NHS trusts more than one quarter of staff report a non-British nationality.
Throughout the pandemic more than 50,000 people a day have been admitted and treated in hospitals for conditions other than Covid. diverse