First year nursing students are helping out on the wards at Poole and the Royal Bournemouth hospitals.

Throughout January a total of 76 students will take on roles similar to that of the hospital’s volunteers and hostesses. They will provide much valued patient companionship, including supporting mealtimes and hydration, and will work with the therapy teams to assist with patient mobilising and dressing. They will also be working alongside the healthcare support workers to maintain the ward environment, and will help with general ward administration and supporting patients to communicate with their friends and relatives.

The trust’s education and training student team will be providing pastoral care and delivering skills sessions throughout the month which will enable the students to gradually take on more clinical duties as they move into February.

The nursing students are from Bournemouth University and join the first year student nurse apprentices who started at the trust in October.

These are by no means the only students you will see across UHD.  The trust has also welcomed student midwives, nursing associates, physicians’ associates, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dieticians, speech and language therapists, operating department practitioners, paramedics, healthcare scientists, pharmacy technicians, medical students and many more allied health professionals.

Alice Girling, deputy head of education, said: “For many of these nursing students, they first encountered Covid-19 while still at school or college, and have now bravely stepped forward to join the nursing profession and the NHS at its time of greatest need.

“We are so proud to have these students join our trust. It shows us the importance of our partnership with Bournemouth University for our healthcare community and we cannot wait to support them on their journey to registration.”