Affiliate Attribute: Defusing nursing’s ticking timebomb
Share this internet web page
The current shortfall in nursing staff all through Scotland has not too way back been broadly reported. It’s a matter coping with the healthcare workforce all through the complete of the UK and Europe which the World Nicely being Organisation has described as a “ticking timebomb”.
Numerous strategic choices are required nonetheless proper right here at The Open Faculty (OU) in Scotland we contemplate an important pillar is providing further accessible routes that open up nursing to further people.
Our Future Nurse Programme affords paths for these already working in healthcare roles to vary into registered nurses. Uniquely, contributors can study for a stage whereas staying of their healthcare help place, so that they proceed to earn whereas they be taught, and employers retain experience and functionality throughout the sector.
The programme has confirmed to be a resilient model. It is estimated that as many as one in 4 scholar nurses depart sooner than the tip of their nursing programme citing funds and lack of awareness of what discovering out for a nursing diploma may entail, nonetheless with the OU nursing diploma, we have got over 90 per cent of contributors ending effectively. Ranges are authorised by the Nursing Midwifery Council and all 4 fields of nursing comply with equipped: grownup, psychological effectively being, learning incapacity, and children and youthful people.
Healthcare help staff make up 28 per cent of the nursing and midwifery workforce. This suggests there are over 19,000 skilled staff with the potential to be licensed nurses. There is not a minimal education qualification requirement to be a healthcare help worker, so a lot of them lack the {{qualifications}} required for a lot of pre-registration nursing programmes.
“It is such a rewarding job and, in a lot of circumstances, you adjust to the affected particular person for some time of their journey. I’ve supported people in quite a few settings, from hospital into the neighborhood, and as well as in jail.”
A elementary part of the OU’s open entry ethos is that we’re open to all people, irrespective of {{qualifications}} or location. We provide entry and further help to Future Nurse programme candidates to help them meet the minimal numeracy and literacy requirements required by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. It means we’re capable of current life-changing options for people who may in no way have dreamed to vary into registered nurses.
Leeanne MacPherson from Cumnock, Ayrshire (pictured), is one such nurse. She left college at aged 16 to work in a jeans manufacturing facility. She lastly went to highschool to do an HNC in social care which led to work throughout the public sector supporting individuals with psychological effectively being factors. However, it was when she began working for the NHS as a nursing assistant that she felt like she’d lastly found her “vocation”, and this in flip opened up a path to realize an OU diploma in psychological effectively being nursing.
With three youngsters to help, Leeanne says this wouldn’t have been potential with out the OU’s flexibility: “The OU course allowed me to remain employed full-time whereas discovering out. This meant that there was financial stability for my family whereas I was working in course of my diploma.”
Leeanne’s diploma costs had been coated by the Scottish Authorities which moreover affords funding to cowl her place when she was away on placement and study depart. From October 2023 we is perhaps working with all of Scotland’s effectively being boards and plenty of neutral effectively being care suppliers on the programme, which is particularly environment friendly in distant and rural areas.
We contemplate we’re capable of work further with effectively being boards to develop their nursing functionality setting up on the success of our programme and scaling it as a lot as current extra sensible routes into the occupation.
Liz Sturley is the Nation Supervisor for Scotland in The Open Faculty’s Faculty of Nicely being, Wellbeing and Social Care
