Marcia Meaning has built her nursing career at the Isle of Wight NHS trust. After completing her training in Berkshire, she wanted to return to the place where she was born, driven by the desire to give something back to her home community. “I think that’s true for a core group of people who work at the trust and are really committed to the island, who grew up here and want to raise their family here,” she says. “But there are also those who come for the island’s lifestyle – it’s a really laid-back place to live and there are a lot of opportunities for outdoor pursuits, such as cycling and sailing.”
Beaches on the doorstep and good schools make the Isle of Wight the perfect place to raise a family, she says. And with half the island designated as an area of outstanding natural beauty and house prices typically 30% lower than the rest of the south-east, the island – with fast commuter links with the mainland – certainly has the potential to offer a good quality of life.
But a move to the Isle of Wight is also beneficial if you want to develop an NHS career.
As the only integrated trust in England that brings together acute, community, mental health and ambulance services, the Isle of Wight NHS trust offers unrivalled employment opportunities for nurses, doctors and allied health professionals such as occupational therapists or physiotherapists.
Meaning, who qualified as an acute adult nurse and is now the trust’s head of nursing for medicine, says: “Because we are a small trust, if you come here as a newly qualified nurse, for example, you have the chance to work across a variety of conditions – more than you could expect in a big mainland trust.”
The trust is an ideal launch pad for an NHS career: “You get a much wider breadth of experience – it’s a really good grounding if you are newly qualified because you get to work in a number of different specialities and can identify where your passion lies,” she says.
The trust is also committed to greater partnership working with its local council and social care providers. Its chief executive, Maggie Oldham – who began her career as a nurse – said recently: “Working more closely with our colleagues in social care, primary care and the voluntary sector isn’t just common sense – it is also better for the people we look after.”
The trust’s headquarters are based at the 246-bed St Mary’s hospital in Newport, delivering services to a population of 140,000 – which nearly doubles in the summer months and during the annual music festival. There are almost 22,700 annual hospital admissions to its 15 wards. And the trust is the biggest employer on the island, with a 3,000 workforce. Typically, staff turnover is low – employees tend to stay with the trust once they join.
Like many trusts, its highest vacancy rate is in acute nursing. There is a particular need for newly qualified nurses but there is also a demand for more doctors – 10 consultant posts are currently unfilled – and allied health professionals are also required. “If you consider the national challenge, we are all fishing from the same pond, so the issue is how do we make ourselves more attractive?” says trust resourcing manager Jackie Humphries, who moved from London to the island with her young family, seeking a better quality of life. “I think what we offer is so much more – it’s not just about working for us, we can also offer a lifestyle choice.”
The trust was rated “requires improvement” in its latest Care Quality Commission inspection report, but the report has pockets of praise – the quality of patient care across all services was “good” and patient transport “outstanding”. Inspectors said: “Staff treated patients with kindness, respect and compassion, providing emotional support when needed.” They “respected and promoted privacy and dignity” and “as far as possible” involved patients “and those close to them” in decisions about their care.
Indeed, the trust is hopeful that the findings by inspectors may act as a spur to innovative health professionals keen to be part of its journey. Humphries says: “We are honest about the position we are in. We are currently on a journey to ‘good’.” She adds: “We think, in fact, it’s a fantastic time to join us, to be able to be innovative and to help us to do things differently. It’s not going to be an easy journey, but if you are a career-minded individual and want to see a hospital go from one place to another then you need to come here.”
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