Turning to Facebook to recruit nurses
Whipps Cross Hospital has turned to Facebook to hire the country's top nurses.
Barts Health NHS Trust is using the site to promote recruitment, encouraging nurses to come to an open day for prospective staff being held at the hospital on Saturday, 8 April 2017.
The move is part of Barts Health NHS Trust's drive to hire more permanent staff to provide high quality care, as well as reduce its reliance on expensive agency workers.
Substantive staffing at Barts Health is now at 89.3 per cent against a target of 95 per cent, with 100 extra substantive staff recruited at Whipps Cross in the last year.
Those attending the ‘one stop’ day will be assessed, interviewed and hired on the day, drastically speeding up the recruitment process meaning they can start work sooner.
Prospective staff will be able to tour the hospital’s facilities and learn about training and development opportunities. They will also have the opportunity to meet with senior leaders and talk to nursing staff to find out what it's really like to work at the hospital.
Chris Pinch, lead nurse in older peoples and stroke care, said: "Our recent staff survey results show that more staff recommend Whipps Cross as a place to work, are able to contribute to improvements and believe that they’re provided equal opportunities for career progression or promotion.
“At Whipps Cross we are passionate around the care of our older community. There is a real sense of team working to ensure that our patients have the best possible outcomes and are able to adapt to the ever changing challenges of growing older and chronic illness. Care of the older person is a diverse and exciting speciality, requiring many differing nursing abilities and skills.
“A permanent workforce leads to better quality care for our patients as our staff are more engaged, loyal and familiar with how we do things. I encourage any nurses interested in working at Whipps Cross to come along to find out more on 8th April."
- ENDS -
NOTES TO EDITORS
With a turnover of £1.4 billion and a workforce of around 16,000, Barts Health is the largest NHS trust in the country, and one of Britain’s leading healthcare providers. The Trust’s five hospitals – St Bartholomew’s Hospital in the City, including the Barts Heart Centre, The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, Newham University Hospital in Plaistow, Whipps Cross University Hospital in Leytonstone and Mile End – deliver high quality compassionate care to the 2.5 million people of East London and beyond.