Latest news with #Helpforce
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Aspiring eye surgeon's career plan changed by scheme
A student said he was inspired by a charity's hospital volunteering scheme to change his intended career. Southampton University student Raahat Shah was studying pharmaceutical chemistry but accompanied his granddad to an eye hospital appointment and he became interested with ophthalmology, the study of eye conditions. A pilot Volunteer to Career programme in the NHS helped him secure medical training and he hopes to become an eye surgeon in the future. The scheme is run by charity Helpforce, which hopes it helps to tackle persistent recruitment problems in the health service. Across England, 48 different NHS organisations have taken part in Volunteer to Career. Mr Shah, from London, was studying at Queen Mary, University of London when he went with his granddad to the Moorfields Eye Hospital in the capital. "There was just something about the hospital environment and especially ophthalmology that really appealed to me," he said. "No one in my family had been a medic and it seemed like a closed world to me – I had no idea how someone from my background could get into it. But I saw an opportunity here and I grabbed it with both hands," Mr Shah said. Through Helpforce's scheme, Mr Shah volunteered at Moorfields once a week for a year, helping patients, doing admin work and watching staff work. "It was amazing. I knew there and then that I wanted to be an eye surgeon. Volunteering in a specialist eye hospital gave me a real insight into that field of medicine," he added. "It convinced me that a career in medicine was what I wanted. and ultimately a career in ophthalmology." After finishing his first degree, Raahat is now in his second year of accelerated graduate medical training in Southampton and is currently on a surgical placement at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital. Helpforce's chief executive, Amerjit Chohan, said its scheme has had a "significant" impact. "Together with our partners in NHS trusts and other organisations, we've helped people like Raahat to gain valuable experience before applying for paid roles," he added. "Through expertly designed and structured pathways, volunteers can find their niche without the immediate pressure of employment, while being upskilled and given confidence to take into job interviews." You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Helpforce Southampton University
BBC News
15-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Aspiring eye surgeon's career plan changed by Helpforce NHS scheme
A student said he was inspired by a charity's hospital volunteering scheme to change his intended University student Raahat Shah was studying pharmaceutical chemistry but accompanied his granddad to an eye hospital appointment and he became interested with ophthalmology, the study of eye conditions.A pilot Volunteer to Career programme in the NHS helped him secure medical training and he hopes to become an eye surgeon in the scheme is run by charity Helpforce, which hopes it helps to tackle persistent recruitment problems in the health service. Across England, 48 different NHS organisations have taken part in Volunteer to Shah, from London, was studying at Queen Mary, University of London when he went with his granddad to the Moorfields Eye Hospital in the capital."There was just something about the hospital environment and especially ophthalmology that really appealed to me," he said."No one in my family had been a medic and it seemed like a closed world to me – I had no idea how someone from my background could get into it. But I saw an opportunity here and I grabbed it with both hands," Mr Shah said. Through Helpforce's scheme, Mr Shah volunteered at Moorfields once a week for a year, helping patients, doing admin work and watching staff work."It was amazing. I knew there and then that I wanted to be an eye surgeon. Volunteering in a specialist eye hospital gave me a real insight into that field of medicine," he added."It convinced me that a career in medicine was what I wanted. and ultimately a career in ophthalmology."After finishing his first degree, Raahat is now in his second year of accelerated graduate medical training in Southampton and is currently on a surgical placement at Basingstoke and North Hampshire chief executive, Amerjit Chohan, said its scheme has had a "significant" impact."Together with our partners in NHS trusts and other organisations, we've helped people like Raahat to gain valuable experience before applying for paid roles," he added."Through expertly designed and structured pathways, volunteers can find their niche without the immediate pressure of employment, while being upskilled and given confidence to take into job interviews." You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
15-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Shrewsbury mum trains as midwife thanks to volunteer scheme
A mother whose daughter was born prematurely is retraining as a Thompson, from Shrewsbury, was inspired to take part in the 'Volunteer to Career' scheme that helps people get work experience in project is piloted by charity Helpforce and has 48 NHS organisations across England taking part."It gave me a chance to see if [midwifery] was a real passion, and it was," Bailey said. Bailey, who grew up in Kansas, USA, lives in Shrewsbury with her husband and two daughters. In 2023, her second daughter Sophie was born prematurely at just 33 weeks and 6 days at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford. While Sophie was being looked after on the neonatal ward, Bailey said she was in and out of the hospital for seven 36-year-old former business recruiter had previously wondered about becoming a midwife, and remembered asking staff about shift patterns and workloads before coming across a poster for the Volunteer to Career scheme. "I'm not super spiritual or anything but I felt that it was a sign meant for me," she said. Bailey applied for the programme that day - even completing the interview whilst at the hospital with her daughter. "It just took me into this journey that I didn't really know existed because it allowed me to dip my toes into the water," she said. Volunteer to Career aims to address recruitment issues in the health services by helping people without prior knowledge of healthcare gain the skills and experience needed to apply for jobs or courses. Over six months, participants complete a minimum of 50 hours of volunteering alongside hospital staff, but they can do more - Bailey estimates she volunteered close to 200 hours in total. They are also offered extra classes on clinical skills, like suturing and interview techniques to assist with future job or university applications. Julia Clarke, the Director of Public Participation at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust, said the scheme has been a triumph. "The success rate of people going on to work in the NHS or study for an NHS role is about 80% - but ours [in Shropshire] is even higher," she said. Ms Clarke added that the volunteer cohorts have been "really enthusiastic", with most volunteering more than the 50-hour minimum. Feedback from participants and existing NHS staff has been "universally positive", she noted. "It just gives people an insight into the wider aspects of the NHS." Ms Thompson is now in her first year of studying midwifery at the University of Staffordshire - all thanks to the vital experience she gained as a volunteer."I really love getting to support women through this time - you're at this precipice of life with them," she said."It's also about supporting people through the difficult times [...] and finding that compassion to sit beside someone in silence when they don't have the words." Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Independent
15-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Expand volunteer programme to bolster NHS workforce, charity says
More than 23,000 healthcare positions could be filled in the coming years if the Government commits to ramping up a scheme that gives young people access to NHS careers through volunteer roles, according to a charity. The move could help with staffing problems in the health service as well as slashing the cost of relying on agencies that supply temporary staff, experts said. The Volunteer to Career programme has been piloted by the charity Helpforce in 48 NHS organisations across England. It provides training, mentorship and support to help volunteers transition to professional roles. Helpforce is now urging the Government to consider the scheme as part of its upcoming 10 Year Health Plan, claiming it could help fill around 23,600 frontline vacancies and related study placements by the end of the current Parliament in 2029. According to the charity, around 107,000 NHS secondary care roles in England are vacant and the annual cost of using agency and bank staff has topped £10 billion. Amerjit Chohan, chief executive of Helpforce, said: 'The success of the Volunteer to Career programme to date has been significant. 'Together with our partners in NHS trusts and other organisations, we've helped people who are interested in healthcare careers but don't have a background in the field to gain valuable experience before applying for paid roles. 'Through expertly designed and structured pathways, volunteers can find their niche without the immediate pressure of employment, while being upskilled and given confidence to take into job interviews. 'Since we launched the pilot initiative in 2022, hundreds of people have taken part, with 55% of them successfully transitioning from volunteering roles to paid careers in healthcare or associated courses – such as in nursing and midwifery. 'Our analysis shows that with the right investment, there's clear potential to supersize the opportunity, with conservative capacity for each of the 215 NHS trusts in England to support an average of 50 volunteers annually. 'We urge the Government to consider Volunteer to Career expansion within its upcoming NHS 10-Year Health Plan, unleashing the potential of home-grown healthcare talent.' It comes after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer set out a number of measures to help bring down immigration on Monday. The White Paper includes plans to end care worker visas for overseas recruitment. Think tanks the King's Fund and the Health Foundation have backed Helpforce's call to the Government. Dr Jennifer Dixon, Health Foundation chief executive, said the results of the pilot have been 'significant' and scaling it up ' has to be worthy of serious consideration by a government that's eager to get people back to work'. Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of the King's Fund, added: 'At a time when the NHS is severely stretched and tackling long-standing and chronic workforce shortages, Helpforce is doing excellent, innovative work to support volunteers to explore opportunities for an NHS career. 'To implement Volunteer to Career on a mass scale would require strategic investment in volunteer managers across NHS Trusts, but such investment would likely be cost-effective when set against paying high fees to agencies that supply temporary staff and helping to reduce the health services' reliance on recruiting large numbers of healthcare staff from overseas.'
North Wales Chronicle
15-05-2025
- Health
- North Wales Chronicle
Expand volunteer programme to bolster NHS workforce, charity says
The move could help with staffing problems in the health service as well as slashing the cost of relying on agencies that supply temporary staff, experts said. The Volunteer to Career programme has been piloted by the charity Helpforce in 48 NHS organisations across England. It provides training, mentorship and support to help volunteers transition to professional roles. Helpforce is now urging the Government to consider the scheme as part of its upcoming 10 Year Health Plan, claiming it could help fill around 23,600 frontline vacancies and related study placements by the end of the current Parliament in 2029. According to the charity, around 107,000 NHS secondary care roles in England are vacant and the annual cost of using agency and bank staff has topped £10 billion. Amerjit Chohan, chief executive of Helpforce, said: 'The success of the Volunteer to Career programme to date has been significant. 'Together with our partners in NHS trusts and other organisations, we've helped people who are interested in healthcare careers but don't have a background in the field to gain valuable experience before applying for paid roles. 'Through expertly designed and structured pathways, volunteers can find their niche without the immediate pressure of employment, while being upskilled and given confidence to take into job interviews. 'Since we launched the pilot initiative in 2022, hundreds of people have taken part, with 55% of them successfully transitioning from volunteering roles to paid careers in healthcare or associated courses – such as in nursing and midwifery. 'Our analysis shows that with the right investment, there's clear potential to supersize the opportunity, with conservative capacity for each of the 215 NHS trusts in England to support an average of 50 volunteers annually. 'We urge the Government to consider Volunteer to Career expansion within its upcoming NHS 10-Year Health Plan, unleashing the potential of home-grown healthcare talent.' It comes after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer set out a number of measures to help bring down immigration on Monday. The White Paper includes plans to end care worker visas for overseas recruitment. Think tanks the King's Fund and the Health Foundation have backed Helpforce's call to the Government. Dr Jennifer Dixon, Health Foundation chief executive, said the results of the pilot have been 'significant' and scaling it up ' has to be worthy of serious consideration by a government that's eager to get people back to work'. Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of the King's Fund, added: 'At a time when the NHS is severely stretched and tackling long-standing and chronic workforce shortages, Helpforce is doing excellent, innovative work to support volunteers to explore opportunities for an NHS career. 'To implement Volunteer to Career on a mass scale would require strategic investment in volunteer managers across NHS Trusts, but such investment would likely be cost-effective when set against paying high fees to agencies that supply temporary staff and helping to reduce the health services' reliance on recruiting large numbers of healthcare staff from overseas.'
