60 local students are getting an insight into what it’s like to work in the NHS thanks to our summer school programme.

Over the next three weeks, students in years 11, 12 and 13 from our three local boroughs are taking part in placements across our hospitals.

Students praised the scheme and said the experience they’ve received in their placements has been invaluable.

Warda Namutebi, a year 12 student from Romford (pictured above) is on placement on Sahara A ward at Queen’s Hospital, which receives patients with brain damage and other neurological conditions.

She applied for the summer school programme as she’s interested in a healthcare career. 

Warda said:

Work experience is important because you can see if it’s really for you, because the theory and the practice can be different.

The nurses are very sociable, I saw how they communicated with patients and eased them through things. They were kind and calm.

Warda was able to come in and watch a physiotherapist help a patient stand up on their feet again after swelling in their knees.

She said:

The patient didn’t want to get up at first, but the team were so positive and encouraging. I really enjoyed watching them help someone through that.

Janat Mazhar, from Barking, has just finished year 11. She’s on placement on Gardenia ward at King George Hospital, which treats patients which cares for patients with heart and digestive system conditions (gastroenterology).

She watched a cannula get put into a patient’s arm and has helped with changing beds.

Janat said:

I didn’t think it would be this busy. I’ve seen how hard the staff here work.

I’d like to say thank you for the opportunity to come in and get work experience, I’d like to be a nurse or a dietician.

Stephanie Bai, from Redbridge (pictured) has just finished year 11 after finishing her GCSEs. 

She’s on placement at Bluebell B ward at Queen’s Hospital, which treats patients with dementia and delirium.

Stephanie has been involved in patient filing, writing information down about patient conditions and what treatments they need, as well as going round each bay and shadowing a healthcare assistant.

Stephanie said:

It’s been such a great opportunity with the people you meet, the things you get to see, and how friendly everyone is. 

It’s been really valuable getting experience in an actual hospital, especially one that’s local. Everyone comes to our local hospitals for treatment, so it’s good to see what it’s like.

As one of the largest employers in our local area, we offer high-quality work experience opportunities for students of all ages to come in and see what we do.

In the last year, we’ve had more than 200 students complete in-person placements with us, which is equivalent to 1,600 days of hands-on learning.

We also offer careers events with more than 70 schools, colleges and community groups across our three boroughs.

James O’Keefe, our Head of Careers Education and Projects, said:

Ask most young people to name hospital jobs, and they’ll probably list ten roles, but there are hundreds which they won't be aware of.

Through our summer placements, students get to witness how patient care works with our nurses, doctors, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists and more.

We encourage them to ask questions: ‘what do you do?’, ‘how did you get here?’, ‘what’s your career journey?’.

They leave understanding just how many different people it takes to run a hospital and they start to see where they could fit in.