An innovative new foundation degree apprenticeship built around a diverse “circuit” of placements in everything from mental health support for adolescents to working with prisoners has been given the green light to help close the gap in the region's patient services provision.

The first cohort on University College Birmingham’s distinctive new Nursing Associate FdSc apprenticeship will start in May, following final approval by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), with the next cohort then commencing in September.  

The two-year course has been developed by the University in partnership with University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Cygnet Healthcare and Practice Plus Group’s Health in Justice, with crucial input from service users and students.  

Kathryn Riley, Professor of Health Education and Head of Department for Health, Nursing and Physiotherapy at the University, said: “Nursing associates are vital as they bridge the gap between healthcare support workers and registered nurses, providing a holistic approach to care for service users who need help with their physical and mental health, but risk getting lost in the system.  

“Reducing waiting times, they deliver hands-on, person-centred care as part of a multidisciplinary team in different health and social care settings.  

“We are very excited about this new apprenticeship. Employer engagement is exceptional and, working closely together, we can offer a much more diverse circuit of placement opportunities across the life span, not just on hospital wards.   

“We’ve never had students working in prisons before, for example, but quite uniquely, they will now get this opportunity.”  

Apprentices need to be in employment for entry to the course. However, to widen opportunities for those who might struggle to get on the higher education ladder and open progression routes, there will be opportunities for employment with University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust as part of the partnership.  

Crucially, the apprenticeship provides a progression route onto University College Birmingham’s Adult Nursing and Health and Social Care BSc (Hons) degrees.

To be approved by the NMC, University College Birmingham had to meet the strictest criteria under the NMC's Apprenticeship Standards, standards framework for nursing and midwifery education and standards for pre-registration nursing associate. They need to cover four fields of practice: mental health, learning disability, children and adults.