West Suffolk Hospital launches career drive

July 25, 2001

West Suffolk Hospital staff went on the road to encourage people to join the NHS on Monday 23rd July.

From a double-decker bus parked in Tesco’s car park (10am until 1pm) and then at Sainsbury’s (2 until 5pm), Hospital staff gave out information and advice to the public.  The staff, from different departments at the Hospital, provided a cross-section of information about the wide range of jobs available in the NHS.

Their aim was to inform people about the many different roles in healthcare and to promote working in the NHS as a rewarding and worthwhile career.

“The NHS is the largest and one of the most important organisations in the country, and few professions can offer the level of variety and job satisfaction that working in healthcare provides,” said Jan Bloomfield, Director of Human Resources at the Trust.  “We wanted to highlight the benefits of working for the NHS and encourage local people to think about a career at the West Suffolk Hospital.”

“The best care for patients is provided by a happy and fulfilled workforce. To achieve this we are doing all we can to create an environment in which every member of our staff feels that their voice is listened to and their contribution appreciated.”

“Flexible working hours, personal training and development programmes, a Career Break scheme, a future on-site nursery and childcare vouchers are just some of the initiatives introduced by the Trust to improve the working lives of staff.  Developing work/life balance employment policies and flexible working patterns play an important role in successful recruitment and retention.”

One of the biggest challenges facing many people today is how to manage the work/life balance. The Trust has been looking at ways to make it easier for staff to achieve a better balance and a major initiative is the introduction of a Return to Practice Course for nurses that provides the retraining, support and flexible hours necessary to enable people to return to the profession.

The courses run so far have resulted in over 30 nurses returning to full or part-time work at the Trust. The success has been put down to offering returnees a course that combines theory with practical experience, a choice of clinical placement, payment for clinical time and no charge for the course.

The Trust’s commitment to improving the working lives of staff was recognised at a conference in Birmingham at the start of the year.

Assistant Head Chef Kevin Bailey received the Improving Working Lives pledge accreditation award on behalf of the Trust from Nigel Crisp, Permanent Secretary/Chief Executive of the NHS.  The West Suffolk was one of only two trusts in the Eastern Region of the NHS and 16 trusts in the country to receive the award.

“The Trust Board has pledged its commitment to developing an environment in which staff feel valued, supported and involved in the provision of high-quality patient care,” said Johanna Finn, Chief Executive of the Trust.