NHS England’s Chief Nurse in the South East has congratulated local students receiving their A Level, T Level or BTEC results today, calling on anyone not sure of their career path to consider joining the NHS through the final remaining healthcare degree places available. 

 Already this year, nationally, 33,560 people in England have applied for a nursing degree. Now that exam results have been announced, clearing places are available across the South East. From Oxford to Southampton and Portsmouth to Canterbury across nursing and allied health professions.  

The NHS is reminding students to accept their healthcare degree offers and for those who may be reconsidering their choices, that a future in health care could be the life-changing career they’re looking for.  

Andrea Lewis, Regional Chief Nurse at NHS England South East said:  

“It’s fantastic to see so many young people making the decision to pursue a career in the NHS. Nursing is one of the most rewarding and diverse careers with many different jobs and specialties, particularly mental health and learning disability nursing. These, as well as the 15 different allied health professions to consider too including podiatry, operating department practice, radiography and speech and language therapy.”  

“For those who are still deciding on their next steps or perhaps rethinking their original choices, I would urge you to consider applying for any nursing or allied health profession degree course through UCAS clearing, and to search NHS careers to find out more.” 

Robyn, who is a Mental Health Liaison Nurse for Learning Disability and Autism said “If it wasn’t for clearing, I would never have considered Learning Disability Nursing, but it ended up being one of the best decisions I have ever made” 

After not getting the A-level grades needed to go to her original choice of university, Robyn turned to UCAS clearing. Here, she came across a Learning Disability nursing degree at hasn’t looked back since. 

Maisy is a podiatrist at Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust. Despite not getting the A-Level results to study a degree in physiotherapy, Maisy said the clearing process helped open up a new career pathway to study at the university she’d always wanted to. 

“I was really upset initially but going through the clearing process really helped. I didn’t know very much about podiatry, but once I learned more about how it incorporates aspects of physio, nursing and musculoskeletal care, I quickly realised it would be the perfect course for me.” 

“If you’ve not had the results you hoped for, there are always other options and courses, it’s not something to worry about. Just find something you enjoy, even it’s not exactly what you originally set out to do, it might surprise you.” 

Student nurses, midwives and allied health professionals could also be eligible for the NHS Learning Support Fund and receive at least £5,000 a year. 

If you think the NHS could be the career for you, search ‘NHS careers’ to find out more about the range of roles within the NHS and how to apply.