The Trust wishes to encourage members of the local community to consider and pursue a career in the NHS and the Trust. Relevant work experience in a health care setting is often a pre-requisite for the application process for many healthcare qualifications.

Work placements should showcase working in healthcare; there are so many opportunities away from the traditional view healthcare that NWBH have the opportunity to display. This is a great opportunity for us as a Trust to offer an insight in to all the amazing work that we do.

Work Placements are an opportunity for people to:

  • Find out more about the healthcare working environment be this clinical, support services, administration or corporate
  • Give an insight into the variety of careers in the NHS and to help to inform career choices
  • Spend some time discovering if such a career is right for them

Placements  

Typically this is between 16-19 (All the colleges involved with the work placement programme are aware of the age restrictions on mental health placements of 18+) This can be extended to open age to incorporate university students.

This is can alter between colleges and between courses of study. This can be from 1 day shadowing to 240 hours of a work placement. Typically placement lengths range from 40 to 140 hours.

“They can get involved in shadowing so they shouldn't be doing what someone else is getting paid for. They should be shadowing and observing but not involved if there are patient confidentiality issues.”  -  (Carmel College and Winstanley College) 

All participants placed with NWBH will be briefed and inducted much like our own staff, they will all receive information surrounding patient confidentiality, safeguarding, information governance and personal conduct. The will also receive a local induction in their area of placement. 

As a trust requirement all participants of work based placements must have a placement supervisor who will be the point of contact for both the work based learning co-ordinator from NWBH and the college.  This supervisor will also be the main lead of the placement and will need to monitor all activities that are undertaken by or with the participant. There can be multiple supervisors for any location this should allow flexibility of time and shift patterns if required.  

The participants will need to complete a reflective/personal development type journal.  This will predominantly be reflective on the experience. This would require little time from the placement supervisors; although this can be dependent on the student’s course of study.

Placement can be anywhere in the trust with any team or department. The only restrictions that could be placed upon this are:

  • No under 18s on inpatient wards
  • Placement Participants are not to be left alone with service users
  • They must not undertake any clinical task
  • Working Hours can be determined by placement supervisors but this must be between 8am and 5pm if the participant is under 18
  • Location of placement and participants travel arrangements will be a deciding factor of where placements can take place.  

For anyone wanting to be placed within a client facing area, it is a requirement if they are over the age of 18 to have an up to date DBS Certificate prior to commencing a work placement with NWBH (this can be deal with via resourcing once an application has been completed).  This includes all areas of NWBH (clinical or administrative) with the exception of corporate Services.

The work placement application will need to be completed online. 

We cannot guarantee that a placement can be offered. Placements can only be offer within services/teams that have agreed to take placements and have completed a work experience placement availability form.

If you wish your service/team to offer placements you can complete the placement availability form here.

For Further information on our work experience programmes please contact Talent.forCare@NWBH.nhs.uk