Karin Smyth, Minister of State at the Department of Health and Social Care and Labour MP for Bristol South, visited our Woodlands base on Tuesday to celebrate International Nurses’ Day and announce 2,000 new nursing apprenticeships.
Karin Smyth MP met with senior staff to learn about our integrated network teams, before talking with some of our apprentices and nurses to hear about their roles and to find out how the government can support community nursing and encourage more people into the profession.
She also thanked the nurses for their dedication and passion and shared in some celebratory cake to mark International Nurses’ Day.
She said: “Here in South Gloucestershire, they are doing great work in encouraging people into apprenticeships, and we are keen as a government to help people to get from, say a Health Care Assistant to a nursing qualification, and I want to learn from what’s happening here.
“Community Nursing is a great job and we need more of them, we want to encourage more people into this work and what they are doing here in South Gloucestershire is a real example of what we want to take across the country.
“It was a real joy to be here today to celebrating nursing, particularly community nursing. I’m grateful they invited me here today to celebrate with them. It’s been really lovely.”
NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB), along with NHS Devon and NHS Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly ICBs are set to benefit from a share of a £65.4 million for 2,000 nurse degree apprenticeships over the next three years.
The funding is focused on the areas with the greatest training shortages and highest levels of deprivation, offering more people the chance to kickstart their nursing careers.
Nurse degree apprenticeships allow people to ‘earn as they learn’, helping to break down barriers to traditional nurse training and enabling people to train closer to their home.
Karin Smyth MP said: “Nurses are the backbone of the NHS, supporting us both physically and emotionally through our most vulnerable moments. But becoming a nurse shouldn’t be determined by where you live. That’s why we are committed to growing the nursing workforce, especially in the areas of the country with greatest need, recognising their vital role in delivering the NHS reform set out in the 10 Year Health Plan.
“We’re unlocking an extra 2,000 additional nursing degree apprenticeships across the country in the areas that need them the most. This will give more people the chance to start a rewarding career in nursing through an earn-while-you-learn route.
“Apprenticeships break down financial barriers and support social mobility, while building the skilled nursing workforce the NHS needs to deliver care closer to home.”
Sirona has been commended by NHS England (NHSE) for the quality of training it provides to students, apprentices, trainee medical staff and advanced practitioners. Sirona’s preceptorship training programme for newly qualified nurses has also been awarded gold quality status by NHS England.
