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Partnership to grow the Leeds nursing workforce honoured with NHS Parliamentary Award
The Future You Partnership was launched in September this year – providing an apprenticeship route for both experienced and aspiring healthcare workers in the city to gain the practical skills and qualifications they need to start a new career as a Nursing Associate or Registered Nurse.
Winners of the regional round of the NHS Parliamentary Awards were handpicked by judges drawn from across the NHS and were selected from over 700 nominations across 10 categories.
The Future You Partnership was nominated by Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP – and won in the Wellbeing at Work category.
It will now go head-to-head with other winners from across the country to be judged by a national panel made up of senior leaders representing NHS staff and patients at a ceremony in the House of Commons in July 2021.
Dr Duncan Sharp, Dean of the School of Health at Leeds Beckett, said: “We are delighted that the Future You programme has been shortlisted for the national NHS Parliamentary Awards 2020 - which is testament to the hard work and dedication of the students, our partners and academic colleagues involved.
“The success of this programme reflects the strong founding partnerships, and it's fantastic that the development of this flexible, accessible, and inspirational route into the nursing profession has been recognised.
“Leeds Beckett University is very proud of the impact that this programme has made, and continues to make, to individuals and our healthcare workforce.”
Students on the Future You programme are employed as Trainee Nursing Associates within the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and combine study for a Foundation Degree at either Leeds Beckett or The Open University with work placements across a range of specialities.
This is followed by a year working as a Nursing Associate, developing skills and practice. Students may then progress to the two-year Apprentice Nurse programme, leading to a BSc (Hons) Nursing degree and Registered Nurse status.
The first cohort of 31 students began in September, with a second intake of 43 students starting in January 2021.
Professor Jaqueline Dunkley Bent, England’s Chief Midwife and chair of the National Judging panel, said: “NHS staff and volunteers make the health service what it is today – the largest and greatest care team in the world.
“This year more than ever, the nation owes a debt of gratitude to the 1.3 million-strong army of nurses, midwives, GPs, physios, pharmacists, healthcare and maternity care assistants, porters, cleaners, and countless other staff who ensured no patient who could benefit from NHS care was unable to receive it.
“It will be a tough task selecting our overall winners – I look forward to hearing more about their fantastic achievements and celebrating with them all at the national award ceremony.”
The Future You programme is open to current Care Support Workers as well as all post-16 students with care experience and the completion of a Care Certificate. For full details about the programme, entry requirements and how to apply, please contact the Leeds Beckett degree apprenticeships team by email or on 0113 812 4500. Visit The Open University’s website for more information on OU apprenticeships.
Alternatively, students can also opt to study through The Open University. With the support of tutors, students learn new skills online alongside their job role, which are then put into practice immediately, for the benefit of patients and service users.
Nursing Associates are patient-centred health workers who bridge the gap between the role of the Care Support Worker and Registered Nurse. The apprenticeship programme allows the Trust to plan its future workforce and embed this new role across the city.
The NHS Parliamentary Awards are sponsored by Fujifilm UK were designed to recognise the massive contribution made by the individuals who work in and alongside the NHS.