Aspiring to give the best to health partnership students

A University of Northampton (UON) health ‘upskilling’ partnership has boosted the number of specialist nurses in the town and county.

There are more than 100 extra mental health and learning disability nurses thanks to the ASPIRE programme delivered with St. Andrew’s Healthcare.

ASPIRE was born from a national push to educate and train more nurses in the health service following the removal of the NHS bursary scheme in 2016. Launched that same year, ASPIRE helps Healthcare Assistants (HCA) to study and train to become mental health or learning disability nurses.

HCAs combine their learning and experience and join the second year of the University’s Mental Health or Learning Disability Nursing degrees. St. Andrew’s Healthcare also offers students salary support (the ASPIRE programme salary is just over £20,000) and extra pastoral help.”

At eighteen months post-graduation, 95% of the ASPIRE nurses are working in senior roles within St. Andrew’s Healthcare, and to date ASPIRE has seen 134 HCAs graduate as registered mental health and learning disability nursing professionals.

Sue Chipchase graduated from the ASPIRE programme in 2021 and is now a Ward Manager at St. Andrew’s Healthcare. She says: “I had always wanted to be a nurse, but finances and having a family meant going off to university wasn’t an option for me. As I got older, I thought I would be too old by the time I qualified. But when the ASPIRE programme launched, I leapt at the opportunity and decided to just go for it.

“My career journey at St. Andrew’s has been incredible, from my first healthcare job to running the very same ward I started out on. ASPIRE has opened opportunities for me to progress, which I never thought possible.”

With a view to keeping the successful nature of the programme under review, the UON and St. Andrew’s team have carried out research to explore the experiences of ASPIRE students and graduates, comparing them with their peers who started their degrees from year one.

The findings have already led to several key improvements being made. Students now receive extra ‘education sessions’ at the University enabling them to gain familiarity with our environment and processes.

Students also have regular meet-and-greet sessions with University staff and other students to enhance their sense of belonging.

The students also meet the University teams that support their studies so they know how they can help them.

UON Senior Lecturer Emma Dillon sums up the views of the partnership team: “ASPIRE is a partnership that’s all about development, employability, progression, success, and support, in-line with the aspirations of the University and St. Andrew’s Healthcare. It’s heartening to see everything our graduates are achieving and look back on eight great years.

“We want the very best for our students, so we are always look for opportunities to evolve our education and training. The findings from our research have provided rich learning for the partnership to help us ensure our students get the best learning experience we can give so their patients receive the best care.”

Find out more about ASPIRE.

The full ASPIRE programme team is:

• Tim Alexander, Senior Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing (UON).
• Rachael Garner, Preceptorship lead at St Andrew’s Healthcare.
• Nicky Peasnell, Senior Lecturer Public Health (UON).
• Emma Swain, Senior Lecturer and ASPIRE Programme Facilitator (St. Andrew’s Healthcare).