WHC wins Placement of the Year Award from Oxford Brookes University

Wiltshire Health and Care’s Corsham and Box Community Team (pictured) has been awarded Placement of the Year 2019 following nominations from healthcare students at Oxford Brookes University.

Students nominate health and social care providers who have given them an outstanding placement experience, using criteria such as quality of care, learning opportunities and student support. The awards; run by Oxford Brookes University Practice Education Unit, celebrates the excellent learning environments provided by regional health and social care providers.

Wiltshire Health and Care’s Director of Quality, Workforce and Professions, Sarah-Jane Peffers said: “This is excellent news! Thank you to Corsham and Box community team, who recognise the real value and importance of nursing students. Placements are an essential part of learning and having a positive experience helps student nurses, once qualified, to choose careers in the community. This is vital considering the shortage of nurses, but thankfully we are seeing more and more newly registered nurses starting their careers in the community.  We value every clinician working hard to deliver safe care and supporting others to learn and grow whilst on placement. This truly shows WHC’s Values and Behaviours.”

Students made over 200 placement nominations which included our community teams in Calne; Chippenham, Devizes, Marlborough and Trowbridge. 41 were highly commended including our Trowbridge Community Team.

Sarah Khan, Acting Head of Practice Education at the University, said: “Practice learning is such an essential part of our students’ health and social care education. The support of experienced practitioners in supervising and assessing students to integrate theory and current evidence base into professional practice for the direct benefit of patients and clients is a crucial component of practice education quality.

“Students are increasingly keen to nominate those placement areas which have provided an excellent overall learning experience in practice. The Placement of the Year Award annual event showcases this opportunity and allows all involved to celebrate their successes.”

Well done and congratulations to all the winners and nominees.