Croeso i Bwrdd lechyd Prifysgol

Aneurin Bevan

Welcome to Aneurin Bevan University Health Board

Work Experience Handbook

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Welcome to Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, we hope that will

find your work experience here enjoyable and productive. This handbook

will give you a brief introduction to our Health Board and provide you

with information to enable you to make the most out of your time with us.

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board serves an estimated population

of over 639,000, approximately 21% of the total welsh population.

We are one of the largest employers in Wales and employ over 13,000

staff.

We have several sites in our Health Board, the main sites are:

Ysbyty Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport - Acute Care

Ysbyty Chepstow Hospital, Chepstow—Community

Ysbyty St Woolos Hospital, Newport - Community

Ysbyty Nevill Hall Hospital, Abergavenny - Acute Care

Ysbyty Aneurin Bevan Hospital, Ebbw Vale - Local General Hospital

Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr, Ystrad Mynach - Local General Hospital

Ysbyty County Hospital, Pontypool - Community

Ysbyty Monnow Vale, Monmouth - Community

We also have other community services, Mental Health and Learning

Disability Services within the Health Board.

Information About

Aneurin Bevan

University Health Board

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Sites within Aneurin Bevan University

Health Board

The Health Board was

established on the 1st

October 2009 and

covers the areas of :

Blaenau Gwent

Caerphilly

Newport

Torfaen

Monmouthshire

The Grange University Hospital

Due to complete Autumn 2021

Under construction

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Thinking of a Career

within the Health Board?

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Careers within the

Health Board

There are over 300 different job roles in the NHS from domestic assistant

to consultant doctor, electrician to chaplain. Broadly, jobs in the NHS can

be divided into clinical and non clinical roles. Clinical roles including

Nursing, Medicine, Pharmacy, Healthcare Sciences, Midwifery as well as

a range of Allied Health Professional roles such as Physiotherapist,

Radiographer, Counselling and Dieticians.

Non clinical roles include, engineers, human resources, IT specialists,

domestic staff, finance and building services amongst many others.

Uniform and Dress code

As a Health Board we expect all our staff to dress in smart clean attire in

their workplace that presents a professional image to the patients, public

and other Healthcare workers. When on your work experience placement

we would expect the same standards of dress. Examples of this would be:

Ward Based Areas

Black trousers (no denim)

Non slip shoes (no trainers)

Polo shirt (dark in colour)

Office based areas

Black/navy trousers/skirt

Smart shirt/blouse

Limited jewellery

Identification (ID) Badges

Your placement supervisor will allocate you an I.D Badge and this must

be worn at all times for security purposes. On your last day it should be

returned to your placement supervisor.

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Data Protection and Confidentiality

As staff working for the Health Board we have a responsibility to ensure

that information about patients and staff within the Health Board and

other organisations is handled in a confidential and secure manner.

When on placement you may see people you know, you must never ask

why they are there or what is wrong with them. You must never discuss

anything you hear or see about patients outside of the Health Board

premises. You can discuss with relatives/friends what you’ve been doing

in terms of duties for that day but never discuss individual patients or

members of staff.

Health and Safety

Always be aware of Health and Safety at all times whilst on Aneurin

Bevan University Health Board premises. If you see anything that you

may think be a hazard or danger to yourself or others report it to your

placement supervisor or another member of staff. Ensure that you are

aware of the Fire safety arrangements in the department and listen to

instructions from your supervisor in the event of a fire emergency.

No smoking policy on

all Health Board

premises

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Security of Personal belongings

Please only use designated areas within the

department to put your personal belongings

(coats, bags, purses etc). It is advisable to refrain

from bringing valuable belongings and having

large amounts of money on you whilst on your

placement as facilities to lock them away may not

always be available.

Supervision

When on work experience placement you must be supervised at all

times. You may have the opportunity to participate in low level

patient care under direct supervision only. The purpose of your

experience is to observe the day to day running of the department. It

is your duty to inform all team members that you must have no

unsupervised patient contact.

Hours of work

Within Aneurin Bevan University Health Board hours of work for stu-

dents will usually be 09.00am to 4.30pm. To support the student in

gaining the best possible experience other hours may be negotiated by

the line manager and the student providing this does not compromise

health and safety and the needs of the service.

Absence from work

If you are unwell and unable to come in, the department must be

informed. It is a matter of courtesy that you contact them and advise

them of your absence from work. Make a notes on the first day of the

telephone extensions to the department.

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Frequently asked

Questions...

Who do I report to?

Please report to the person detailed in

your confirmation email.

What do I do if I am not happy in my placement?

Please inform the person in charge and Susan Hayward

Susan.hayward2@wales.nhs.uk (placement co-ordinator)

What will I get out of my placement?

If you haven’t got a clue what career you want to do, work

experience is a perfect way to sample all the career options out there.

It’s a way of exploring different jobs without actually committing to

anything.

Where will I be placed?

Your application will identify which area of work you require.

However, some flexibility may be needed.

What hours will I be expected to work?

Hours are negotiated by the employer and will not exceed 37 hours in

a week.

What if I can’t make it in to my placement, who do I contact?

Please contact the manager and Susan Hayward.

Will I get evidence of my time doing work experience for future

reference?

A certificate will be given at the end of the placement.

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How long will I be on placement for?

Placements can be as short as one day but no more than six months

Do I get paid travel expenses?

No

Do I need a DBS check?

No

Will I need to show my CV?

No

Will I need references?

No

Will I need an interview?

Employers may request an informal discussion beforehand, either by

phone or face to face.

Will it help if I research the NHS website before my placement?

This will help with any questions that you may wish to ask on

placement.

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Benefits

of

Work

Experience

Helps you make

informed choices

about your future

Gain experience of working

with people, enhancing social

and communication skills

Learn more about specific

industries, organisational

cultures and job roles, some of

which you may not have been

aware of

Gives you access

to Networks

Gives you exposure

to the workplace and

how to behave in a

work context

Gain experience to

add to your CV

Doing work

experience shows

passion and interest

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What Are People Saying...

As you may have heard from the Sister, I only attended the work

placement on Saturday and not Sunday. I am very sorry about

this, however I did decide after Saturday that medicine wasn’t

for me and did not wish to continue with the work experience. I

would like to say that the Sister and all the staff were very

friendly and welcoming and I totally admire their dedication to

their profession. I would like to thank you again for the

opportunity and apologise for not completing the work

placement.

Just to say Charlotte enjoyed her day in

Nevill Hall path labs. Thank you for

organising the day. Would it be possible

in the future that she could visit a

microbiology lab?

Thank you very much for organising my work experience at the Royal Gwent Hospital. Sister and all the staff on Ward B7 were so supportive and professional and made my experience enjoyable and interesting. I feel even more inspired to work hard in my studies and have a successful career in nursing. I

really hope that one day I can apply to complete a placement on B7 and work with Sister and her nurses again.

I really appreciate all the effort that you have gone to get me this place. I am so grateful as the opportunity sounds amazing and I realise you have gone to a lot of trouble to do this for me. Thank you so much - I am really looking

forward to Friday!

Only to say thank you for looking after Tayla on her last

day of work experience. She thoroughly enjoyed it and

took a lot away from her time in the pharmacy. She was

very impressed!

Tayla was a great work experience student. I have high

processional standards and Tayla presented herself as

polite and engaging. I wish Tayla every luck in her

future and hope that she pursues a career in pharmacy. I

think it will suit her well.

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Rhiannon did really well and the secretaries all

spoke very highly of her. She undertook a

variety of administrative tasks all of which she

performed to the expected standard. She was

enthusiastic and positive and said that she

had enjoyed her time with the department.

Thankyou so much for organising Fred’s work experience placement at Chepstow Hospital.

He had a really good week and got to see lots of different things which was a fantastic

opportunity for him.

A HUGE THANK YOU FOR ARRANGING THE WORK EXPERIENCE. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY GREAT AND INFORMATIVE AND I LOVED EVERY MOMENT OF IT. ALSO THANK YOU FOR ALWAYS BEING THERE AND RESPONDING

SO PROMPLTLY TO MY EMAILS. I REALLY APPRECIATE IT ALL. THANK YOU TO LEILA AS WELL FOR TAKING THE TIME OUT OF YOUR

BUSY SCHEDULE TO SHOW ME AROUND AND MEET THE TEAM. YOU

GAVE ME GREAT FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE AND ADVICE. I COULD SEE

THAT YOU WERE JUST BEING YOUR LOVELY SELF AND I HOPE TO BE

GIVEN THE CHANCE TO MEET YOU AGAIN IN THE FUTURE.

Sam’s work experience here at YYF has worked out extremely well.

He is very obliging and will undertake any task asked of him. He

has fitted well within the team and proves to be very capable.

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