29.09.14
HEE to invest £4.7m in bringing nurses back to NHS
Health Education England (HEE) is investing £4.7m into training resources over the next three years as part of a major national campaign that will allow former nurses to return to the workforce.
Across the country, the Come Back campaign will engage with nurses through social media and digital communications, to deliver news of the refreshed return to practice programmes now available.
HEE’s role is to secure the future supply of the workforce and it has been working with stakeholders, including the Royal College of Nursing and NHS Employers, to deliver the Come Back campaign.
The £4.7m investment will be spread over three years, with £2m due to be spent this financial year, £1.5m for 2015-16 and £1.2m in 2016-17. The funding will be used by the national education and training body to cover the full cost of return to practice courses and offer guaranteed placements in NHS trusts.
Professor Lisa Bayliss-Pratt, HEE director of nursing said: “Having chaired the Return to Nursing Steering Group I am delighted to support this campaign.
“This work also feeds in to the Shape of Caring Review. It will put the spotlight on ensuring we attract the right people back, provide flexible options for learning and perhaps most importantly nurture on-going development and refreshment of knowledge, skills and abilities through robust mentorship and assessment in the practice learning environment.”
The return to practice programme is a combination of classroom and placement-based learning, with study periods and a minimum of 75 hours of clinical practice taking place over approximately three-months.
Led by supportive tutors and mentors, there are approximately 40 courses across the country, created to refresh your nursing skills so nurses are ready to return to practice. The £4.7m investment will also be used to cover expenses for returning nurses including travel, childcare and books.
Janice Stevens HEE National Director for Midlands and East, who is leading the work for
HEE, said: “Nursing is a fantastic, passionate profession and I hope that this campaign encourages some our brilliant ex-nurses to come back.”
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