The RUH is celebrating the success of six teenagers who are getting ready to graduate from a year’s internship at the hospital.
The significant fact here is that each of these young adults has a learning disability. Thanks to the huge success of Project SEARCH – a programme to help young adults with learning disabilities learn skills necessary for future employment – these young students from Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES) and Wiltshire have significantly increased their prospects of full employment.
The RUH was one of the first hospitals in the South West to welcome teenagers with learning disabilities into the workplace as part of Project SEARCH, working in partnership with Fosse Way School and BaNES Adult Services. This is the third year that students have been taking part in the school-to-work internship at the RUH.
The Project provides an opportunity for real-life work, focused on both general and task-specific job skills. Students receive daily instruction in the workplace and independent living skills and participate in rotations on a particular job, to help them to make a successful transition from school to productive adult life.
Project SEARCH Co-ordinator Jan Marsh says Project SEARCH has helped people to see the students’ abilities instead of their disabilities. It challenges traditional perceptions about employing people with learning difficulties.
The students have been working in Oncology outpatients, Trauma and Orthopaedic Unit, Urology, pre-op assessment unit Catering, Pharmacy and Sterile Services.
One student has already found permanent .employment working within the pathology department. When Matt Hayball starts work he will be supported by our follow-on job coach, Jackie Grinter. Bath RUH Project Search is the first in the country to be able to offer this support to ease the transition into work.
The RUH is committed to creating an environment in which everyone feels valued and able to give of their best, and believes that a diverse workforce can have a positive impact on both the everyday running of the hospital and the quality of patient care.
Chairman Brian Stables said: “We’re delighted with the success of the Project Search initiative at the RUH. The students learn such a lot during their internship and we know that those who go on to achieve employment become valuable members of the team.
“Six out of the nine students who undertook Project SEARCH in the first year are now in employment, and four of last year’s students now have paid jobs.
“We are proud of our staff for embracing the concept and creating such great opportunities for the interns.”
