'Look for jobs in England' newly registered nurses in Scotland told
Posted 25 July 2024 - 14:30
Final-year children’s nursing students have just been told there are no jobs available after waiting months to hear from nursing recruitment programme
Hundreds of nursing students in their final year at Glasgow Caledonian University applied to the nursing recruitment programme in March but, after months of waiting to hear back, many have recently been told there are no jobs.
Newly qualified children’s nurses feel ‘strung along’ after waiting months to hear from recruiters
While some adult nursing candidates were successful, all 85 children’s nursing students have been told there are no roles for them at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) – the largest health board in Scotland.
With the prospect of facing unemployment after graduation, many say they are already considering leaving the nursing profession before they have even started. Some told Nursing Standard that their tutors had told them to look for jobs in England.
One student who has children says she left a career in recruitment to retrain as a nurse as a mature student. ‘I know that not everyone can be successful, and I don’t begrudge anyone that has been offered a job, but I think that the issue here is that we've been strung along by NHSGGC with lots of delays and there’s been a lack of transparency surrounding the jobs,’ she said.
‘It’s left a sour taste to the point that I’m not sure whether to continue with nursing, which is sad. It feels like it’s all been a bit pointless.’
NHSGGC provides acute, community, gynaecology, oncology and general practice services across 23 hospitals, 72 health centres and clinics and more than 230 GP surgeries in Glasgow, West Dunbartonshire, Inverclyde and Renfrewshire.
‘Interviewed for a job that does not exist’
Candidates were asked to fill out an application form, which included three 500-word essay questions and were invited to an interview.
One children’s nursing student said: ‘I finally received an email on 19 July stating that I had been found to be appointable in my interview, but unfortunately there were no opportunities for paediatric and neonatal nurses at NHSGGC this year.
‘Not only have we waited ten weeks to find out that we have been interviewed for a job that does not exist, but there is also no opportunity to be added to a reserve list. Why put us through all of this if there were no jobs?
‘As you can imagine the upset and stress this is causing while we are on placement makes it difficult. Like many others, I would not be able to relocate as I have children and my life has its foundations in Glasgow.’
NHSGGC confirmed that 729 jobs had been offered through the newly qualified nurses programmes this year compared to 769 in 2023.
‘Appalling’ treatment as newly qualified nurses face unemployment despite staff shortages
Students say options are limited as they cannot apply for other band 5 roles until they have their nursing PIN later this year, so they will certainly now have a period of unemployment.
RCN Scotland said the students had been treated ‘appallingly’ by the health board and it showed a failure in workforce planning. It urged students to share their experience with them.
Associate director Eileen McKenna said: ‘The reports that newly qualified nurses are struggling to find work are extremely worrying. Given the scale of the staff shortages that are being reported every day across Scotland’s NHS services, this is not what those studying nursing or those receiving care would expect.
‘NHSGGC has treated this group of newly qualified nurses appallingly and need to look again at its processes and communication.'
An NHSGGC spokesperson said: ‘Every year we carry out a rigorous recruitment process to ensure we have the best qualified staff. As a result this year we have made more than 700 offers of employment to nurses across the board’s services. We understand that some applicants will be disappointed by the outcome of this process, but we continue to review vacancies throughout the year and promote opportunities as they arise.’
Students encouraged to apply for NHS jobs in other parts of the UK
Meanwhile Glasgow Caledonian University said personal tutors are available to provide advice on finding alternative employment.
‘From the outset, all of our nursing students are informed that there is no guarantee of employment with their preferred health board area after graduation as vacancies can fluctuate significantly each year,’ a spokesperson added.
‘They are encouraged to apply to other Scottish health boards or apply for NHS jobs in the rest of the UK. They can also apply to work in the care sector, independent healthcare sector and in education.’
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