Recruiting from the communities we serve
Our hospitals are helping dozens of people from deprived and disadvantaged communities in north east London take a first step on the NHS career ladder.
The trust’s pioneering Community Works for Health and Healthcare Horizons teams have won a new contract to find training and work experience placements for residents in Waltham Forest, Redbridge, and Newham.
They are among ten hosts across the country selected for a £5m Government pilot programme to support those groups and areas worst-hit by unemployment.
The scheme is aimed at young people not in education or employment and adults from ethnic minority groups experiencing poverty, deprivation and worklessness.
Our share of the funds will enable us to screen and select 48 people for three-month paid work placements at either Whipps Cross or Newham hospitals this autumn. The plan is that in due course at least ten of these will qualify for entry-level jobs.
Successful candidates will receive pre-employment training from our partners at the Poplar Housing And Regeneration Community Association, plus personal post-training support to maximise their chances of obtaining long-term employment.
The programme is cost-neutral to departments hosting a placement for 22.5 hours a week. Participants will receive the London Living Wage (currently £13.85 an hour).
Wes Streeting, the Health and Care Secretary, hailed the scheme as part of his 10-year plan commitment to tackle health inequalities. “We are delivering an NHS fit for the future and offering a ladder out of poverty and into work for people in working class communities,” he said.
“We are making sure people from Newham, Redbridge and Waltham Forest, no matter their background, have a way out of the inactivity trap.”
The widening access demonstrator pilot builds on the success of the Healthcare Horizons partnership with Tower Hamlets Together. It secured work placements for 38 young Somali and Bangladeshi women, and 25 of them found permanent jobs.
Anhar Ali, MSK Therapies service manager, said: “ We took on eight placements last year, seven secured full-time employment within Barts Health, and the other person went back to full-time education - so I would call that a 100% success rate.
“The extra pair of hands we received during that period helped us clear backlogs and manage waiting lists a lot easier. It’s also helped create a talent pool which we can dip into as and when vacancies arise.”
Healthcare Horizons is planning to run another Tower Hamlets scheme. Meanwhile managers at Newham and Whipps Cross interested in hosting a placement from October should contact Kaylie.Devlin@nhs.net .