Hull nursing recruitment team named best in UK
CELEBRATION: Members of the team at the awards ceremony
By Simon Bristow
Nursing staff at Hull’s hospitals are celebrating this week after winning a national award in recognition of their work to recruit and support new nurses.
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH) won Best UK Employer of the Year for Nursing Staff at the Nursing Times Workforce Awards 2022.
Judges picked the trust for its “Grow Our Own” campaign to tackle the national shortages of nurses, resulting in the trust reducing its registered nurse vacancies by 95 per cent through initiatives including nurse apprenticeships, and support for healthcare assistants and internationally educated nurses to gain UK nurse registration.
The judges said: “The holistic approach to support the growth of staff from school all the way through to post registration shone through. The judges acknowledged the breadth and depth of partnership working, their social capital and their commitment to giving back to the community.”
Trust Chief Nurse Jo Ledger said: "This is amazing news for our trust and our incredible nurses.
“It’s been a very challenging few years but we have always tried to put our people at the heart of everything we do so our staff in turn can focus on patient care.
“I am extremely proud of my teams and of all our nurses, midwives and healthcare staff and I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of them for everything they do."
The trust’s practice development team, working with HR, nurse educators and its recruitment team, supported health care workers and nursing assistants to become fully qualified staff nurses, and its apprenticeship programme to support school leavers to become trainee nurse associates. Staff who trained overseas were also helped to gain the necessary qualifications to work as nurses in the UK.
Members of the team including Practice Development Matron Karen Mechen, Senior Matron in Nursing Services Nicola Buckle, Practice Development Nurse Michio Schuck, and HR Business Partner Sarah Addleshaw attended the ceremony at the Hilton London Metropole on Tuesday night, along with more than 700 professionals from across the NHS and care sector.
Trust Director of Workforce Simon Nearney said: "We are incredibly proud of everyone who works on behalf of the trust to support our nursing teams.
“This award is also testament to our nursing teams and everyone else who has made a massive contribution to our apprentice programmes, Remarkable People recruitment campaign, recruitment and retention and our international nursing programme.”
Editor of Nursing Times Steve Ford, who hosted the awards, said: “Our awards highlight nursing’s workforce achievements and some of the brilliant work being carried out during what continues to be an incredibly difficult period, due to enduring staff shortages, the aftermath of the pandemic and the approach of winter.
“Once again, we have shone a light on those organisations and individuals that go the extra mile when trying to attract new nursing staff and, just as importantly, celebrated efforts to retain staff.”