As the UK-wide shortage of nurses is beginning to bite, Northamptonshire recruiters are scouring the UK, including Wales, hoping to tempt the UK’s nursing talent to relocate to the region with newly refurbished facilities and a good work/life balance.
The ‘‘Best of Both Worlds’ recruitment campaign hopes to attract hundreds of nurses and healthcare professionals to relocate and work in hospitals and the community across Northamptonshire – and the campaign is stepping up a gear this Autumn.
A series of open day recruitment events are being held by leading Northamptonshire NHS employers throughout September and October, welcoming nurses of all levels and specialisms as well as therapists and healthcare assistant roles.
The open days will showcase the range of job opportunities and nursing career pathways available across the county. Newly qualified and qualified nurses who attend can find out about the roles, speak to members of staff, attend short presentations and apply for jobs.
The next two open days are:
- Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) on Saturday 29th September, 9am until 5pm at Highfield Clinical Care Centre in Northampton. NHFT is looking for nurses and therapists to work as part of its Intermediate Care Team or Community/District Nursing Team. Live job interviews will be a big part of the day and nurses are encouraged to bring along their CVs and supporting documents.
- Northampton General Hospital on Saturday 6th October, 10am until 2pm. The hospital is looking for qualified medical, paediatric and theatre nurses and ODPs.
Jackie Perkins, Head of Service for Community Nursing at NHFT said:
“This is an exciting opportunity for nurses to join a dedicated, experienced and highly motivated team, who provide high quality, safe, compassionate care for patients in sometimes challenging but always rewarding ways across Northamptonshire. The team delivers and supports treatments in partnership with many services providing a multidisciplinary and holistic approach to patients care. Within district nursing, patients and their families/carers always remain our priority and we regularly receive positive feedback from them about our service.”
“NHFT is a fantastic organisation to be a part of and this has recently been recognised by the CQC who have rated us Outstanding. We offer a robust individual development plan for all our staff and assist staff to reach their potential.”
Andy Belcher, Clinical Resource Planning Manager said,
“These open days are a fantastic opportunity for nurses looking for a fresh challenge to explore the career opportunities in Northamptonshire, speak to people already working here and to see our excellent facilities. Northampton General Hospital is due to open a £12 million emergency assessment unit in October that will be leading the way in emergency admissions.
“There are many benefits to relocating here including first rate training opportunities and career progression, as well as being a beautiful place to live, easily accessible to other parts of the UK and offering affordable housing. We encourage nurses to register for these open days and come and find out for themselves.”
These events will follow a highly successful open day at Kettering General Hospital (KGH) on 15th September which was attended by over 170 nurses and health care assistants. KGH is recruiting surgical nurses to work in its newly refurbished theatre wards, nurses for medical wards and its family health division, as well as healthcare assistants.
Andrew Stewart, Head of Employment Relations says,
“Kettering General is a hospital for the community, with a real family feel. Most staff live within 10 miles of the hospital and everyone talks to everyone. We’re a very close-knit team. Nurses who work here are smiled at every day, supported and developed – they can be a big fish in a small pond.”
The ‘Best of Both Worlds’ campaign launched last year and is the first campaign of its kind to bring together several NHS providers to address the national shortage of doctors and nurses by highlighting the many benefits of relocating to Northamptonshire, including the varied career opportunities and better quality of life.
The campaign unites the University of Northampton, Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Northampton General Hospital, Kettering General Hospital (KGH), St Andrew’s Healthcare and Northants GP.
For more information on the vacancies visit: http://bestofbothworlds.uk.net