AS THE NHS launches the biggest recruitment drive in England in its 70 year history, new research has shown the special place that its staff hold in the nation’s heart.

Nurses and doctors top a public poll as the most trusted and respected professions in the country, according to research carried out for the new national campaign, ‘We are the NHS’.

Three quarters of those surveyed chose nurses and doctors as professions they trust the most and seven in ten people said they were some of the most important roles in society.

But the majority of the public surveyed did not know the wide range of careers available working as a nurse, only 3% knew that nurses worked in mental health and one third could not name a nursing role outside of hospital like district nurses.

England’s most senior nurse, Professor Jane Cummings said the survey findings showed why young people should feel inspired to choose a career in the NHS but that more needed to be done to highlight the vast range of opportunities available for talented and dedicated people.

The campaign, run by NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care, will also reach out to African Caribbean communities in England, highlighting the vast range of opportunities available in the NHS for potential new recruits. Initially, the campaign puts a spotlight on nursing by prioritising key areas including mental health, learning disability and community and general practice nurses.

Professor Jane Cummings, Chief Nursing Officer for England, said: “The NHS is our country’s most loved institution and that is down to the expert skill, dedication and compassion of its brilliant staff.

“There are over 350 careers available within the NHS giving young people an astonishing range of options. Nursing and midwifery make up the largest part of the workforce and provides a unique opportunity to make a real difference to peoples’ lives in a way that simply cannot be matched.

“Nurses and midwives provide expert skilled care and compassion, and they are highly talented leaders in the NHS. This campaign is all about inspiring young people and others who want a change of career to come and work for the NHS and have a rewarding and fulfilling career that makes a real difference.”

Heather Caudle, Director of Nursing for Improvement - NHS England said: “I am so happy that we finally have a national recruitment campaign for nurses in the NHS. Originally from Trinidad

"I have worked for over 25 years as a clinician, mental health nurse, psychotherapist and then, latterly, as an executive chief nurse of an NHS Foundation Trust. We need to have an inclusive and diverse workforce. And this is why I am reaching out to you as someone who is African Caribbean to come and join the NHS.

"Being a nurse is exciting, intellectually-stimulating, creative, humanistic and fulfilling and I would encourage men and women from any background to pursue these paths. Nursing may not be easy, but it is an incredibly rewarding and brilliant profession.”

Paulette Lewis MBE, President of the Nurses Association Jamaica (UK) commented: “We are pleased to support this NHS recruitment campaign. It is important that the NHS reflects the population it serves, by positively encouraging people from culturally diverse backgrounds to choose nursing as a career.

"It is also important that every opportunity will be given for us to be represented at every level of the NHS. I have worked in the NHS for over 30 years and have found the NHS a good organisation to work for.”

Source: The Voice