The Community Works for Health (CWfH) programme is a core part of the Barts Health Public Health Team’s vision which seeks to help local residents secure work in the lower bands within the Trust. It aims to address health inequalities by working with local partners and contributing to the local community. By filling vacancies with local people, Barts Health supports the development of a workforce that represents the local community and its needs and therefore contributes to service improvement.

The CWfH programme ring fences the following entry level roles for local candidates:

Admin / Clerical
Healthcare Assistants/ Theatre Support Workers
Phlebotomists
Medical Lab Assistants
Pharmacy Assistants

The scheme is open only to people from: Newham, Tower Hamlets,City of London, Hackney and Waltham Forest

Since it started in 2012 it has helped hundreds of local people get skills and experience through placements and jobs at local NHS organisations.

Entry Requirements:

Level 1/2 in Literacy and Numeracy- candidates will need to sit a functional skills test in maths and English and:
Admin/clerical – Minimum requirement: GCSE (A-C) including maths and English, good IT skills, and some administrative experience
HCA – A health and social care qualification (min Level 2)or relevant experience in a healthcare setting
Phlebotomists – Previous experience in phlebotomy or a minimum of 2 weeks phlebotomy training
MLA – A Biomedical/Science degree is required (must not be in education)
Pharmacy Assistants – A Pharmacology or related degree

Placements

An optional 4-6 week placement will be offered to candidates applying for Admin and HCA roles

The completion of a 6-week placement is required for candidates applying for MLA, Phlebotomist and Pharmacy Assistant roles

Placement days/hours are subject to agreement between the manager and the candidate (min 20 hrs a week)

Placements are of great benefit to all parties. Candidates will develop invaluable experience within the Trust increasing their chances of being considered for lower banded vacancies and internal references. A placement participant can provide a manager with an extra pair of hands for up to 8-week period.

We work closely with others across the Trust to provide placements for Talent Pool candidates and the placement managers have been incredible in supporting and upskilling those people.

The process

Interested candidates need to submit their CV (including postcode) to: communityinitiative.bartshealth@nhs.net

They will then be invited for one of our virtual Information Days to find out about the programme, roles available, entry requirements and how to apply. After the session they need to sit a functional skills assessments with one of our local partners / training providers. We work closely with employment outfits within east London, which usually is the employment team from local authorities.

Those who pass assessments are invited to a 1-to-1 online interview to check their suitability for the roles.

Successful candidates are enrolled onto the 1-week employability training where they learn about Barts Health, policies and procedures and how to successfully apply for roles and prepare for interviews within NHS.

Once they complete the training there are registered with Barts Health Talent Pool and are eligible to apply for internal entry level vacancies.

The programme has been very successful since it started. Initially it was run once a quarter, but because of the huge interest from local residents and increased number of entry level vacancies within the Trust we decided to run it more often and now have up to ten cohorts annually.

Last year we registered nearly 150 local residents onto our Talent Pool and over 110 got jobs already! We are working hard, constantly and tirelessly improving and adapting to new challenges. When the pandemic started last year we moved the whole programme to virtual platforms to be still able to help residents, especially when so many lost their jobs during lockdown. We now run our Information Days, assessments, interviews and training via Teams or Zoom enabling more candidates to participate.

Contact Details:

The Community Works for Health programme

Public Health Team

Barts Health NHS Trust

CommunityInitiative.bartshealth@nhs.net

Maira Cordero – from candidate to project officer

My journey into work with Barts Health NHS Trust started when I completed the Community Works for Health (CWfH) programme. The course helped me to get more knowledge about the organisation, as well as preparing me to apply for jobs within the Trust.

The next step was registering with the Talent Pool so that I could apply for internal jobs. After pre-employment checks, I got the opportunity to do a placement with the public health team. This was great, my supervisor Anna was a pleasure to work with and I really enjoyed doing admin work and helping other candidates like me.

A few months later I was able to apply to work in the same department as a project officer. I am grateful for all the support I got from the first moment and I am enjoying every minute of it.

As a project officer I am responsible for administrative and project support to the CWfH programme. I facilitate placements for candidates who completed the training, so I liaise with various managers on all sites. I register candidates to the Talent Pool and do all the pre-employment checks. I also attend and help organise a lot of job fairs and information days to raise awareness about the programme.

“I will soon start working as an imaging receptionist”

“This has been the best thing I have ever done. It allowed me to change career and get back into employment.

I worked more than 20 years in sales, but due to the pandemic I couldn’t make any sales and I was really struggling. I decided to adapt my skills to other jobs and follow many courses to retrain. When I heard about the Community Works for Health, I applied straight away.

The course has given me a deep understanding of their values and processes. Having been able to access the internal vacancies after the course is another great advantage as you acquire the skills to get through the interview. The placement after the course, although not mandatory for admin, is an advantage for anyone like me who wants to work within the NHS.

I will soon start working as an imaging receptionist at Whipps Cross Hospital.”

– Valeria Curzio, June 2021

An extra pair of hands – and part of our team

Petra Francis, Matron for Specialist Medicine at Newham Hospital, is a supporter of the scheme. She said:

So far all candidates have been amazing, they make a lot of difference to our patients and for staff they are an extra pair of hands. All are local so they understand our community and its needs.

I am trying to roll this out across the whole of my division now (five wards). We currently have volunteer trainees on two other wards, so far going really well.

In terms of challenges, there have to be clear boundaries for existing staff and for the volunteers to ensure patient and staff safety at all times. Volunteers are seen as a part of the team and not outsiders.

Trainees make a huge difference to patients, for example a 20-yearold patient with cognitive impairment with no relatives formed a really special bond with one of our trainees. He felt loved and that was so touching to see. Helping others develop and teaching them to keep humanity close to their heart makes all the difference.

For the organisation, we get home grown talent, staff happy to be part of Barts Health, good staff retention, better community relationships, finding rare gems in a haystack. All staff that have permanent roles now are a big credit to our organisation and NHS as a whole.

I feel privileged to go home every day knowing I made a difference in someone else’s life and to find staff who make a difference to our patients, there is no better feeling.

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