Highly commended at Step into Health awards
We’re proud to announce that our work supporting individuals from the Armed Forces community in joining the NHS, has been recognised by the Step into Health awards.
The Step into Health programme, which is celebrating its 10th birthday, connects candidates from across the Armed Forces community with NHS organisations and provides a dedicated pathway into a civilian career in the NHS.
The Step into Health awards recognise those who have gone above and beyond to help those taking the step from the Armed Forces community into the NHS.
Berkshire Healthcare was highly commended in the Transition Support Award category which acknowledges organisations which have provided exceptional support to Service Leavers transitioning into NHS careers and have made a big impact with their support of Step into Health and the Armed Forces community.
Our Early Careers Manager Rachael Hitch was also highly commended in the Champion Award category, which recognises an individual who has been a strong advocate for the programme and is doing exceptional work in their organisation in support of the Armed Forces community.
Dan Brooks, Armed Forces Lead at Berkshire Healthcare, said:
“We're delighted to receive two commendations from the Step into Health awards, which is a fantastic recognition of the work we do to support transition employment opportunities. We recognise the transferable skills and cultural values that Armed Forces personnel have developed, and how these skills and values are compatible with working in the NHS and actively encourage applications from people who are currently employed in the armed forces. Our ambition is to recruit, retain and support the very best talent, drawn from within the Step into Health Programme. This in turn helps us to achieve our ambition to deliver the best healthcare services, care quality and patient experience for our Armed forces community, patients, families, partners and carers”.
The Step into Health programme supports the Armed Forces or Veteran applicant from the very beginning when applying, throughout the interview process and once inducted, welcomes the new staff member into the Berkshire Healthcare community. This ensures maximum support for the individual throughout the transition process which also boosts retention.
The support does not stop at the individual but also extends to partners and to family members, for instance, when partners are deployed or reposted or indeed transitioning themselves.
Our strong commitment to supporting staff from the Armed Forces has been recognised through the trust being awarded a prestigious Gold award by the MoD (Ministry of Defence) in July 2022 in recognition of our efforts to become an Armed Forces Friendly Employer.
Find out more
Find out how we support the Armed Forces community, including Regular and Reserve Service Personnel, Veterans and ex-Forces, and partners, families and carers (opens in new window)