ID Insights: The importance of engaging the younger generation with the modern NHS

Milton Keynes Hospital caught ID Medical's attention yesterday when they revealed that a group of local students at Oakgrove school have just completed a week of work experience in some of their cutting edge wards.

As the UK's leading medical recruitment agency, ID Medical believes the future generation of medical professionals will play a vital part in shaping our future NHS. It is inspiring to know that there are healthcare establishments not only supporting the career interests of the younger generation but actually providing them with opportunities to experience the everyday lives of our remarkable NHS staff.

With this in mind, it has prompted us to speak out about how important it is to engage our youth with the modern NHS. From a staffing perspective, we receive thousands of job applications a week requesting work in the UK – unsurprisingly it is not a challenge to find placements for our candidates as we hold preferred supplier contracts with over 90% of NHS Trusts.

There is a constant high demand by hospitals and healthcare establishments across the UK for qualified and experienced healthcare professionals as health issues become a growing concern amongst our population with the highest ever number of patients suffering from Obesity, Heart Disease and Cancer; ranking as one of the biggest challenges to our NHS.

The BBC’s health correspondent Nick Triggle reported ‘the disease has now become so common that one out of every two people born after 1960 will develop it during their lifetime, meaning currently every two minutes someone in England is diagnosed with the disease.’

One way to prevent and improve long-term NHS issues such as this is to engage with young people who are curious about pursuing healthcare careers and nurture their interest. Placing students into real-life hospital wards and clinics provides the perfect environment for them to learn and gain understanding which can then be applied later on.

James Averill, reporter from OneMK, commented that the Oakgrove students relished in the experience, applauding the Milton Keynes Hospital for its wonderful and committed staff that helped throughout the week. Practice organiser Marie Draper commented “I hope this week will be the foundation of a very successful project which will continue at the hospital for years to come”.

This project has clearly been a great success. However, similar projects in the future cannot be offered without the support of dedicated staff in schools and government who motivate and encourage the future nurses, doctors and healthcare professionals.

ID Medical is thrilled to see our local schools and hospitals working together towards the same initiative. With innovation and persistence, together we will make the difference. We hope to see more schools and hospitals implementing similar opportunities throughout the region and the wider UK.

For more information about how we support our young people, visit our online newsroom.