Dorset nurses take centre stage in London recruitment drive

12th January 2017

Dorset HealthCare staff have made their debut as models starring in adverts on the London underground and bus network in a bid to attract qualified staff to the Trust.

Members of the community and mental health trust’s staff are part of an exciting recruitment campaign, running over the next three months, which aims to attract people to a range of vacancies with the Trust.

Dorset HealthCare is widening the net and targeting a bigger pool of people as it spreads the word about why it’s a great place to work. With adverts in tube cars and on buses, as well as outdoor advertising, the Trust is aiming to fill vacancies in nursing and other key roles.

Director of Nursing and Quality Fiona Haughey said: “We chose London because we’ll be able to reach a huge number of people throughout the campaign. Our own staff tell us the lifestyle change attracted them to Dorset. I came here from London 26 years ago to do my health visitor training and I’ve never left. I had no idea where I was coming to and never intended to stay, but it’s offered me so many opportunities.

“We have a wide range of roles available – from nursing to catering and estates to therapy. We know we’re competing against trusts across the UK but we have a lot to shout about. We’re very proud of our services and our staff and we’d like to find more great people to join us.”

The recruitment campaign has its own dedicated website - www.joindhc.co.uk – featuring video case studies of DHC staff, a range of information and links to where you can apply for jobs.

The Trust has also created a ‘partner zone’ with The Guardian online (https://www.theguardian.com/dorset-healthcare-partner-zone) highlighting the wide range of nursing roles available with the Trust. In its first week the zone has seen good visitor numbers with people spending double the amount of time on our content than the average (over six and a half minutes).

In February, a local campaign in Dorset and neighbouring counties will also kick off and will highlight the range of different roles available in the Trust.

Fiona added: “It’s possible that people think the NHS is just about nurses and doctors. But there are so many professions and roles which all play a part in running our services and supporting the local people we serve.”

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The Trust will also be making best use of its social media channels, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram to support the recruitment campaign.

Like many NHS trusts around the country, Dorset HealthCare has not always found it easy to recruit to key posts in a number of areas, including nursing and allied health professionals such as occupational therapists and physiotherapists. The recruitment campaign is one of the actions to help address this.

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