Dear colleague

Our role within our communities is wider than just providing hospital care. I’m delighted that an inspiring intern scheme we run (with the support of several partners) to help young people with learning disabilities and/or autism take their first steps into the workplace has helped Muhammed Patel get a job at our Trust.

He took part in Project SEARCH, which provides opportunities for 17 to 19 year olds to work across different departments in our hospitals, learning a range of skills. Muhammed is now a ward keeper on Sky A at Queen’s Hospital where he’ll take on daily tasks, such as sorting stock rooms, to help the ward to run smoothly. 

He has also been chosen to celebrate National Supported Internship Day at the Houses of Parliament later this month. 

Project SEARCH has seen five interns secure permanent roles with us, and we have 24 new interns. When Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary and MP for Ilford North, met some of them last year he spoke of how valuable it was to have a scheme that provided opportunities for those who might otherwise struggle to get their foot on the ladder.

 ‘Good’ Ofsted rating

Apprenticeships are another way we help to support people to develop their careers and following our first inspection, our Apprenticeship and Career Hub has been rated ‘Good’ in all areas by Ofsted. 

This is an impressive achievement and sits alongside us also being the first NHS trust in the country to achieve The 5% Club’s gold standard for our commitment to providing apprenticeship opportunities for staff. It is given to organisations whose workforce has at least 5% of staff doing apprenticeships.

The inspection followed on from our becoming a ‘main provider’ in April 2024, which means as well as offering apprenticeships to our staff, we also run them for people who work outside our Trust.

Well done and thank you to our Project Search and Apprenticeship teams.

Join our annual general meeting

Lastly, we’re holding our annual general meeting on Thursday 27 March, where our Chair Sarah Betteley and myself will be reflecting on our 2023/24 achievements. The meeting will be held virtually, and anyone is welcome to attend. Further details are available on our website. 

Have a great weekend.

Best wishes,

Matthew Trainer

Chief Executive