Local nurses star in new NHS recruitment video

Mental health nurses from across Hampshire and Sussex are starring in a new recruitment film for Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
Katy Stafford and Diane HullKaty Stafford and Diane Hull
Katy Stafford and Diane Hull

More than a dozen nurses speak about their roles in a four minute unscripted film set against the backdrop of some of Sussex and Hampshire’s most iconic landmarks and scenery.

It’s been made by a former service user of the Trust, which provides mental health services and learning disabilities services for all ages in Sussex as well as services for children and young people in Hampshire, in a bid to attract more nurses to come and work for the organisation.

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You can view the video above and at www.sussexpartnership.nhs.uk/nurses

Diane Hull, Chief Nurse at Sussex Partnership, said: “We have made a real commitment to look after our nurses, to value them, nurture them and develop them along their careers with us.

“We are passionate about providing high quality compassionate patient care and services to all the people we serve and our team of dedicated nurses play a vital role in helping us achieve this.

“We want to recruit more nurses to join our team – if they are caring and passionate like we are – they will fit right in.

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“There is nobody better to promote working at Sussex Partnership than our current nurses and we hope more people will be inspired by their stories and come and join us.”

The film, called Nursing at Sussex Partnership, features the stories of nurses who work in a variety of roles across Sussex and Hampshire, from caring for people admitted to hospital, to looking after people in the community and in secure settings. It’s been made by John Richardson, from Eastbourne, a former service user who now runs his own filmmaking company called This Is Mind Wick

Nationally the NHS is facing a staffing crisis. Last year alone, Sussex Partnership spent £6million on agency fees to fill nursing vacancies.

In May, the Trust launched a national campaign to recruit 150 new nurses over the next 12 months and this new video supports that vision by allowing nurses to tell their own stories about why they do what they do.

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Katy Stafford, Matron at Langley Green Hospital in Crawley said: “I feel honoured, privileged and energised to come to work each day – how lucky am I to be able to say that?.”

Kim Ballesteros, a staff nurse also based in Crawley, said: “People come to me and they ask me what I do and I tell them I’m a mental health nurse. They say to me ‘really? Are you not scared?’. It’s not something to be scared of. These people are human beings and what I do as a mental health nurse is a real honour.”

Aileen Coomber who has been nursing for more than 60 years and works at Shepherd House in Worthing, said: “For me, nursing is at the heart of me. It’s who I am.”

Aimed at both student and registered nurses from the local area and across the UK, Sussex Partnership has called its campaign #NotJustAJob, in recognition of the fact new nurses are supported to develop their careers and stay with the Trust after they join.

There are a range of nursing vacancies across the organisation. More information and current vacancies can be viewed at www.sussexpartnership.nhs.uk/nurses