BUPA hospitals takes action to recruit new nurses

 

8 May 2002

 

BUPA Hospitals,part of the country's leading independent health and care group, has launched anew initiative to recruit extra nurses in to its 36 hospitals nation-wide.

 

There is a recognised difficulty in recruiting nurses tothe profession and BUPA Hospitals like all other providers, public and private,is being forced to deal with the reality that this resource is becoming everscarcer. To tackle this industry-wide issue, Janice Clement, head of nursingfor BUPA Hospitals has invested in the development of an innovative recruitmentCD-ROM. These nurses will care for a wide variety of patients including insuredmembers, self-pay patients and NHS patients being treated under the Concordatagreement.

 

Janice explained: "At a time when recruiting highcalibre nurses is so challenging, and retaining them is key to the success ofBUPA Hospitals, it is important for us to be attractive as an employer. We makea serious commitment in recognition of the fact that our ability to provideconsistently the highest possible levels of care to our patients is largely dueto the dedication of our nursing staff."

 

The interactive CD-ROM gives nurses the opportunity toexplore working life in a BUPA hospital. The wide-ranging content includes aninterview with BUPA Hospitals' head of training and development, Ali Rowell.Ali gives an overview of the commitment to professional development in BUPAhospitals, including the NVQ programme, clinical leadership and critical caretraining. The CD-ROM also explains the relationship between BUPA Hospitals andthe University of Huddersfield - together we have developed a range of postregistration accredited training courses to meet our business needs.

 

It includes an interview with a hospital matron about herrole and what is like to be responsible for the clinical management of ahospital. To outline some of the more diverse opportunities in BUPA's hospitals,the CD-ROM includes an interview with charge nurse Stephen Free whoparticipated in an exchange to La Zarzuela Hospital in Madrid - owned by BUPA'sSpanish subsidiary, Sanitas.

 

Interviews with real BUPA Hospitals' staff echo themessages from the company's head of nursing. The CD-ROM includes interviewswith nurses across different disciplines who have had varied careers with BUPAHospitals. They talk of their career development and the support they receivedand what it is like to work in one of the group's hospitals.

Acting ward manager at BUPA Hospital Leeds, Helen Russelltalks interested recruits through how she was given the time and support toresearch, develop and implement a new cancer service at the hospital.

 

They now have one of the busiest cancer services in thecountry.

"This is exactly the initiative we want to encourageour nurses to demonstrate. Our commitment to personal development is very realand I hope that nurses will see this for themselves when they look at thisCD-ROM and think seriously about a career with BUPA Hospitals." saidJanice Clement.

 

BUPA Hospitals worked closely with communications agencyCTN to develop this recruitment CD-ROM for its initial launch at the RoyalCollege of Nursing Congress in Harrogate this April. It will be used locally byall of BUPA's 36 hospitals to attract nurses. The CD-ROM is designed to be userfriendly. Through the innovative use of graphics and text, nurses can even takea virtual tour of one of BUPA's high-tech operating theatres.