Teen healthcare careers fair inspires next generation

Over one hundred young people attended a careers fair last night at the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust (RUH).

The fully-booked event was hosted by the RUH and highlighted the wide range of exciting careers available in the NHS.

Students in year 10 and above from local schools and colleges were invited to meet staff, learn about working life at the hospital and have a go at some hands-on activities.

The Trust's Widening Participation team, who work with local schools, colleges and their students, were on hand to give careers advice and information on apprenticeships, work experience and volunteering opportunities available at the RUH.

Widening Participation Adviser Lilly Webb said: "We've had an overwhelming response to this event, with places being fully booked in in record time. It's a great opportunity for all students to discover their options within the NHS. We always try to showcase a variety of roles, from those which people will be more familiar with such as nurses, therapists and doctors to vital behind the scenes roles such as pathology, pharmacy, estates and administration.

"It was great to see how enthusiastic the students were, asking lots of questions and getting involved with the activities. We hope this event has inspired some of them to pursue NHS careers and enabled them to take the right steps in order to do so."

During the evening, pupils had the chance to take part in a variety of hands-on activities and observe live demos including suturing (stitching) of wounds on artificial training limbs with our Medical Students, looking at histology samples through microscopes with our Healthcare Scientists, trying their hand at digital dictation with our Medical Secretaries and wiring a plug with our Estates Team.

One student attendee said: "It was great to get the chance to speak to so many different RUH staff in such a wide range of roles and understand more about what they do, everyone was really friendly and helpful, I'll definitely be applying for work experience and volunteering soon."

As one of the largest employers in the region the RUH is committed to highlighting the many opportunities available to young people, both within the Trust and the wider NHS.

The event was supported by staff from the University of the West of England, Bath University and Project Search.

For more info about apprenticeships, work experience and volunteering at the RUH, please visit our website www.ruh.nhs.uk/careers

ENDS

Notes to Editor

• The Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust provides acute treatment and care for a catchment population of around 500,000 people in Bath, and the surrounding towns and villages in North East Somerset and Western Wiltshire. The hospital provides healthcare to the population served by four Clinical Commissioning Groups: Bath & North East Somerset CCG, Wiltshire CCG, Somerset CCG and South Gloucestershire CCG.
• The Trust has 759 beds and a comprehensive range of acute services including medicine and surgery, services for women and children, accident and emergency services, and diagnostic and clinical support services.
• In 2015 The Royal United Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust acquired the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases (RNHRD) NHS Foundation Trust. The RNHRD treats patients from across the country offering services in rheumatology, chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome/ME, cancer related fatigue and fatigue linked to other long term conditions such as multiple sclerosis.
• The RUH is changing - we have an exciting programme of redevelopment underway transforming our site and further improving the services we provide. The Trust is building a purpose built RNHRD and Therapies Centre and is now working towards a new Dyson Cancer Centre. For more details visit: www.ruh.nhs.uk/fit4future

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