What we know so far about the government’s nurse ‘Graduate Guarantee’

 

Existing vacant healthcare support worker posts will be converted ‘where suitable’ into registered nursing positions, the government has told Nursing in Practice. 

There are currently 17,000 health care support worker (HCSW) vacancies which can be converted into registered nurse posts to fund the increase in vacancies.

The government said exact vacancy numbers will depend on graduation rates, and so it is not currently clear whether all 17,000 posts will definitely be converted – especially given the difference in salaries for a HCSW versus a registered nurse.

But it has been suggested that employers can decide how many vacant HCSW and midwifery support workers (MSW) they convert into registered nursing or midwifery posts, with regional teams to work with local providers to decide local recruitment priorities.

A government spokesperson said this could include ‘reverting posts back to support worker roles as vacancies arise’.

NHS trusts will also be able to ‘flex’ the posts they need filling through existing funded vacancies, meaning they can amend their current vacancies to meet their specific needs. There are currently 24,000 full term equivalent (FTE) ‘nursing vacancies’ across all bands in the NHS in England.

There will be both temporary and permanent positions available as part of the scheme.

 

While focusing on NHS trusts in its initial promotion of the plan, the government told Nursing in Practice that it will be ‘encouraging applications’ to newly converted posts across the entire health sector, including in social care, the independent sector and charity sector.

Vacancies for all posts will be listed in one place on a ‘student hub’ – launched as part of the scheme.

The package follows collaboration with the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and Royal College of Midwives (RCM) in an effort to address the crisis.

Speaking earlier this week, RCN general secretary and chief executive, Professor Nicola Ranger, said it was ‘absurd’ that newly qualified nurses are unable to find work, at the same time as the health service ‘urgently needs nursing staff’.

‘The test of this will be if students can find jobs, vacant posts are filled, and patients receive the care they deserve,’ she said.

‘Ministers have to continue listening to nursing staff who are crying out to have their critical work valued, today’s action takes us all a little closer.’

It is not currently clear how long the scheme is intended to run. However, according to a letter from NHS England, employers are being encouraged to adopt a ‘time-limited approach’ to make use of existing vacant HCSW roles to create ‘time-limited’ registered nursing posts.

As part of this, regional teams will work with NHS providers directly to explore if this approach works locally. This could include reverting posts back to HCSW roles as and when vacancies arise, as well as ensuring good preceptorship and support is provided for staff.

Paul Rees, NMC chief executive and registrar, has called for action from employers who are hiring nurses as part of the government’s new plan.

‘We would particularly call on employers to ensure that as the Graduate Guarantee is rolled out, they use ‘preceptorship’ programmes, where possible, to welcome and integrate newly registered professionals into their new team and place of work,’ Mr Rees said.

Writing exclusively for Nursing in Practice this week, the health and social care secretary, Wes Streeting, said he ‘wouldn’t accept’ nurses and midwives being unable to find work. 

‘If you train to be a nurse or midwife, if you work hard to get the right skills, then there should be a job waiting for you at the end of it. It’s as simple as that,’ he said.

Also speaking this week, the chief nursing officer (CNO) for England, Duncan Burton, echoed Mr Streeting’s demand for graduate nurses to quickly enter the workforce.

‘We have more nurses and midwives than ever before choosing to stay working in the NHS, which is fantastic for patients, but we must ensure our newest graduates get the same opportunity to put their skills and passion to use without frustrating delays,’ Mr Burton said.

New measures will also see some midwifery support worker vacancies be temporarily converted to band 5 midwifery roles to create job openings for graduates.

The government has said it is ‘reprioritising’ £8m of existing national budgets to fund this temporary conversion.

And it also confirmed that ‘where necessary’ this funding can be used to backfill gaps caused by existing maternity leave for midwives. Outside of the £8m for the scheme, the government expects that the majority of the funding will come from MSW vacancies.

While focusing on NHS trusts in its initial promotion of the plan, the government told Nursing in Practice that it will be ‘encouraging applications’ to newly converted posts across the entire health sector, including in social care, the independent sector and charity sector.

Vacancies for all posts will be listed in one place on a ‘student hub’ – launched as part of the scheme.

The package follows collaboration with the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and Royal College of Midwives (RCM) in an effort to address the crisis.

Speaking earlier this week, RCN general secretary and chief executive, Professor Nicola Ranger, said it was ‘absurd’ that newly qualified nurses are unable to find work, at the same time as the health service ‘urgently needs nursing staff’.

‘The test of this will be if students can find jobs, vacant posts are filled, and patients receive the care they deserve,’ she said.

‘Ministers have to continue listening to nursing staff who are crying out to have their critical work valued, today’s action takes us all a little closer.’

In July, applications to study nursing England hit their lowest recorded levels since 2019, according to data from the Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS).  

More UCAS news will be coming this week, following A Level results day on August 14.

At RCN Congress in May, newly qualified nurses described choosing to work in coffee shops and having to look for non-nursing posts before they’ve received their pin because there are ‘no jobs’ available when they graduate.