“Working for Derbyshire Healthcare has been one of the most wonderful things that has ever happened to me.”
These are the words of Isabel Maseva, just months after starting her role as a healthcare assistant at Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
After working in the private care industry for many years, Isabel says she finally feels she has found her home and is full of praise for the encouragement she has received from her managers and team.
“Right now I feel I am in the right place, in the right frame of mind, doing the right job,” she said. “Here at Derbyshire Healthcare, I am supported and have opportunities to grow and progress. I’ve grown in confidence and have learned a lot through training and from my colleagues. I am hoping to start a nursing apprenticeship soon, and finally feel I have a career for life.”
Isabel’s first step to finding her dream job was to attend one of Derbyshire Healthcare’s careers events which promoted roles created by the Making Room for Dignity programme.
The programme sees the construction and refurbishment of six mental health inpatient units in Derby and Chesterfield, creating jobs in all areas of work, including mental health nursing and the estates and facilities team.
With the next careers event coming up at Pride Park Stadium in Derby on 12 October, Isabel has this advice: “I would highly recommend people to attend the careers fairs, even if you don’t know exactly what you want to do. It will help you make an informed decision about what you want to do with your career.”
Another careers fair success story comes from Lucy Thompson, who recently qualified as an occupational therapist.
Lucy attended a Derbyshire Healthcare careers event aimed at occupational therapists after deciding during her second university placement that her future lay in mental health.
She said: “I hadn’t really considered working in mental health until I began my second university placement, which was at the Hartington Unit in Chesterfield.
“I confess I felt really daunted and wasn’t sure I would enjoy it but I very quickly realised how much of a difference I could make – and I loved it.”
Lucy has now secured a job at Derbyshire Healthcare as an occupational therapist, due to start later this year. In the meantime, she is working as a temporary receptionist for the Trust.
She highly recommends attending the Derby Careers Fair.
She said: “I would advise anyone to go along and explore the options because it’s such a diverse Trust. There are lots of opportunities and if you can’t find a job in one area, there may be another one which suits you. Keep an idea of what you want to do in your head, but don’t be afraid to explore other areas as well. You might find a job you've never even heard of.”
Isabel and Lucy are just two of many people who have secured jobs at Derbyshire Healthcare after attending one of the trust’s career events.
The next event is at Pride Park Stadium, Derby DE24 8XL, on Saturday 12 October, 10am to 2pm. This will be an opportunity to find out more about the many different careers available at the trust, and there will be vacancies available for registered mental health nurses, as well as in the estates and facilities team.
