Thousands of young people who grew up in care are being offered careers in the NHS.
The health service will offer youngsters from troubled backgrounds a route into becoming an NHS carer as dozens have already been trained to take up jobs. There are around 50,000 care leavers in England annually and anyone who is aged 16 to 25 who is, or has been, in care can apply for the scheme.
Duncan Burton, the Chief Nursing Officer for NHS England, said: “We want to ramp this up with 350 different careers available in the health service, there is huge potential to help more young people in care to step on the NHS career ladder.
“Many care leavers experience disruption in their lives which can affect their further education and impact on job opportunities in the future. Care leavers have a unique set of life experiences that can bring a different perspective to the NHS. They have a huge amount to offer a career in healthcare.”
The NHS is the UK’s biggest employer with 1.6 million staff and public investment in it has been seen as a driver of economic growth. Now it will use its recruiting power to attract those who have a drive to care for people but who may have suffered trauma or disruption during their childhood which affected their education.
Lily, 21, entered foster care as a toddler after being born into an unsafe environment. She was fostered in several homes before being adopted alongside her sister Charlotte. The NHS Universal Family Programme has supported her into an apprenticeship as a trainee therapy assistant at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust.
It was growing up with her adoptive mum, Debbie, who suffers from several health conditions that Lily’s passion for caring flourished. She said: “I grew up always having a passion for care, as my mum has been very poorly my whole life. I feel this inspired me as I loved to see how much better she felt after being looked after by me and my sister.
“My nan was also a nurse in the NHS for her whole life, working across so many different wards, including mental health and she used to tell me all sorts of stories about her time on the wards when I was younger.
“One story I particularly enjoyed is a story about how my nan would work with patients with rather difficult and complex mental health needs. She would go in to do her work, and sometimes the patients would be very erratic and distressed, she taught me a number of techniques she used to do to help calm these patients, breathing exercises and sensory exercises.”
Lily’s application was spotted by therapy services manager Charis Davey, who explained: “As a department we wanted to tap into the experience of care leavers who perhaps don’t have the opportunities that the rest of us have but have the lived experiences that mean they can relate to patients from many different backgrounds.
“We decided to create an apprenticeship role because we recognise that because care leavers don’t necessarily have access to the levels of education that they need to get the experience or qualifications to apply for these sorts of roles through traditional routes.
“Lily is just the most enthusiastic person. When I first met her, she couldn’t believe that people had thought of targeting something she had been through to give her that opportunity, but she has given just as much back if not more into her role. She’s got drive and anything that you give her she will run with, and she has the potential to go as far as she wants to go.”
The health service already disproportionately employs people from more deprived backgrounds compared to other sectors. A large proportion of nurses have retrained into the vocation as mature students.
Local authorities responsible for young people in care will now do outreach to recruit them onto the NHS Universal Family Programme. They will be offered work experience, the chance to shadow NHS staff, training opportunities as well as CV writing tips and interview practice to help them get on the NHS career ladder.
Duncan Burton added: “I’m delighted to see that Lily is thriving in her new role and it’s wonderful that her inspiration for joining the NHS was hearing her grandmother talking about her time as a nurse. Her story is a great example of how this programme can empower young people to reach their potential and lead a successful career.”
The NHS Universal Family programme initiative will partner with NHS bodies, voluntary sector organisations, local councils and the Department of Work and Pensions.
Lily added: “I feel so lucky to have been presented with this opportunity. The work can be difficult, but I love the challenge that it provides. I feel as though I am not only bettering my professional skills, but my life skills too. I don’t think people are aware of how many opportunities actually lie within the NHS, whether it be for clinical roles, admin roles or domestics roles and I feel I have really found my place.”
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