News | Thursday, 30th April 2020
Coronavirus: Student nurses join NHS frontline in fight against COVID-19
More than 100 students volunteer for special paid placements in hospitals
Student nurses from Manchester Metropolitan University are joining the frontline in the fight against Coronavirus at hospitals around the UK.
More than 100 student nurses have volunteered to join hospitals on paid work placements as the NHS deals with a surge in patients with Coronavirus (COVID-19).
They will work in hospitals for three to six months from this month, during the height of the pressure on the health service from COVID-19.
The third and second year students, from Manchester Met’s BSc (Hons) Nursing programme, have all volunteered to take part and will be paid by the hospital trust they work for. They join more than 20,000 student nurses and midwives who opted-in nationally.
Manchester Met answered the call for nursing students to rapidly plug a shortfall in the number of nurses in the NHS as COVID-19 cases dramatically rose across the UK.
The University – which has a long history in training professional healthcare workers – modified its nursing degrees in light of COVID-19 so students could join hospitals and complete their courses as part of new national guidance on nursing training.
Answering the call
It is one of a number of ways the University and its students are helping in the collective effort against COVID-19, including donating and manufacturing personal protective equipment to supporting small businesses and working to supply medical gowns.
Professor Laura Serrant OBE, Head of the Department of Nursing at Manchester Met, said: “We are incredibly proud of the students who answered the call to support the NHS. They are selflessly joining hospital wards across the country and putting their invaluable healthcare skills and training to use at such a critical time.”
Prof Serrant added: “Every day we are seeing the fantastic work done by nurses, doctors, midwives, social care workers and all key workers under such difficult circumstances. The NHS is facing an unprecedented situation, creating pressures that have never been experienced before.
“Working closely with our partners, we have adapted our programmes as part of the national framework to support nursing students who volunteer to join hospitals on paid placement.”
Lauren Ashworth, a third-year student nurse, is joining the frontline on Monday (May 4) at Stockport’s Stepping Hill Hospital after opting-in to the paid placement scheme.
She previously completed placements at Stepping Hill, working on cardiology and respiratory wards, in the emergency department and in the elective orthopaedic department.
Care and compassion
Lauren, a mum-of-three from Stockport, said: “Being a nurse means we can care for the most vulnerable people in our society.
“We can give someone love and care when they need it the most. It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced - it’s such a wonderful, rewarding profession to be part of.”
She added: “I felt I was competent enough to step up but it wasn’t an easy choice though, there were some difficult conversations we as a family had to have.
“I was already banking a lot more than usual as a care support worker in my way of helping, so being able to work at a higher band and gain further experience during this pandemic seemed the right thing to do.
“I’m a big believer that everything happens for a reason, although it’s not the way I imagined ending my degree.”
The paid placement scheme follows work done by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, Health Education England (HEE) and the Health and Care Professional Council to offer revised education programmes for nursing students.
Coordinated
HEE worked with all universities to ask nursing students if they would like to take part in the adapted programmes and join the frontline.
Manchester Metropolitan partnered fellow Greater Manchester universities and HEE North West to ensure there was a coordinated approach for the region.
As part of their usual training, students would normally undertake 12-week placements during the summer. This was adapted, providing volunteers with an extended paid work placement that also counts towards their degree.
Students who opted-in to the scheme join an official database of volunteers. They apply directly to hospital trusts, which may be in Greater Manchester but can also be anywhere across the UK depending on the students’ preferred location.
As part of Manchester Met’s regular support for nursing students, pastoral support is available as well as ongoing access to its health and wellbeing service.
