Trust launches film campaign to recruit the next generation of nurses

Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust has created new films to encourage the next generation of nurses to join the NHS. The series of seven films will be used at recruitment fairs, nursing open days and across Trust social media channels throughout the year.

The films focus on the personal stories of frontline nurses, their reasons for joining the profession and the aspects of their role they most enjoy. The nurses featured in the film also discuss how they have received excellent clinical training and developed their careers while working at the Trust.

Dame Eileen Sills, Chief Nurse at Guy’s and St Thomas’, said: “At Guy’s and St Thomas’ we are passionate about providing high quality-compassionate care to our patients, and our dedicated team of nurses play a vital role in helping us achieve this. This new film campaign will help us build on our reputation as an excellent place for nurses to train, and we hope to see many more new nurses develop their careers here.”

Lynsey Matins, senior staff nurse in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Evelina London Children’s Hospital, which is part of the Trust, was one of the nurses who featured in the films. She said: “Starting my nursing career at Guy’s and St Thomas’ was the best decision I’ve ever made. I walked into the hospital and completely fell in love with it. Since starting here my managers have really focused on helping me progress and develop my career, and are really invested in me.”

The new films build on the recent launch of the Trust’s new professional award, the Nightingale Nurse Award, to celebrate our most outstanding nurses. Named in honour of the pioneering nurse Florence Nightingale, who established her first nursing school at St Thomas’ Hospital in 1860, this award is unique to the Trust.

The Nightingale Nurse Award includes the completion of a work-based learning module, and will give staff the opportunity to start or complete a master’s programme in nursing at King’s College London. Importantly, on completion they will be honoured with the title of being a ‘Nightingale Nurse’. The Trust is currently looking at hundreds of award submissions from staff, with the first awards ceremony due to take place in May 2018.

This work also falls under Guy’s and St Thomas’ 2020 strategy for Nursing and Midwifery that sets an ambitious target to have a waiting list of nurses and midwives who want to work at the Trust by 2020.

Find out more about the latest nursing vacancies at Guy’s and St Thomas’.