Our NHS needs you!
How a hero squad of super nurses is helping to prevent the stressed-out newbies from quitting…
Even before the current health crisis, a whopping one in five NHS nurses left the profession after just a year. But there’s a possible solution to the critical nursing shortage, as this new five-part series reveals.
Cameras follow the staff at two of London’s hospitals, King George and Queen’s. They both offer a trailblazing ‘senior intern team’, pairing newbies with experienced nursing staff, who support them through their toughest year on the hospital wards.
‘During a nurse’s student life they’re shadowed or they work very closely with a mentor,’ says producer Steve Mcconville. ‘Then as soon as they’re qualified they’re out there on their own and in at the deep end. That can be challenging.’
In this week’s first episode, emotions run high as newbie Lauren reaches breaking point in the busy A&E. Luckily her mentor, Taz, who has 16 years experience, comes to her rescue.
‘A lot of newly qualified nurses are attracted to A&E, perhaps because it feels like the busiest and most active part of the hospital,’ explains Steve.
‘But it’s also the toughest department and a lot of them really struggle with the pressure and the high patient turnover. Luckily, Taz is able to step in just at the right time, by moving Lauren to a slightly quieter department to help build her confidence.’
So far the scheme has been running for three years and the number of nurses leaving after a year has dropped to just 8%. But with the pressures of the current pandemic, will it stay that way?
‘The scheme is continuing during the coronavirus crisis and it’s very much needed right now more than ever,’ says Steve. ‘A lot of the support is about confidence-building. It’s about saying, “Keep learning, keep trying and you’ll be OK.”’