UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 08 NOVEMBER 2023
An apprenticeship course that aims to change the future of rehabilitation training has been created and developed by Birmingham City University (BCU) in partnership with the UK’s first NHS National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC).
The Rehabilitation Assistant Practitioner Apprenticeship course is the first of its kind and combines academic lectures delivered by BCU with three six-month placements with the Therapies teams at Nottingham University Hospitals.
The aim is to help apprentices develop a wide variety of skills needed to work as an Assistant Practitioner (AP) at the state-of-the-art NRC and other healthcare rehabilitation settings.
“We’re delighted to be working with Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and thankful to be a part of this wonderful initiative, which puts rehabilitation front and centre of healthcare,” said Jodie Bryant, BCU’s Pathway Lead for the Rehabilitation Assistant Practitioner Apprenticeship.
“This is an extremely exciting partnership that offers a lot of opportunities for staff and students at Birmingham City University. Being part of this project has allowed BCU to demonstrate its expertise, agility and willingness to react to the ever-changing demands of the healthcare profession.”
A 70-bed specialist facility that will open in 2025, the £105m NRC will be built on the Stanford Hall Rehabilitation Estate near Loughborough, home to the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre.
The role of the Rehab AP was devised to enable the NRC to provide an intensive level of rehabilitation to improve patient outcomes that is in line with international best practice.
This intensive model of care will require the APs to work across physiotherapy, occupational therapy, nursing and many other specialist professions that work with patients during their rehabilitation journey.
Alison Wildt, Service Improvement Lead for the NRC, said the apprenticeship was born out of the NRC’s commitment to provide its staff with access to career development opportunities.
“This bespoke Rehab AP apprenticeship has the potential to change the way we train professionals coming into the field of rehabilitation, not just those who want to come and work at the NRC but for healthcare workers in rehabilitation settings across the UK,” she said.
“Birmingham City University were appointed to develop this bespoke apprenticeship due to their willingness to develop a specific course for rehabilitation. They are a great team to work with.”
September saw the first cohort of Rehab AP apprentices enrol on the course.
James Tague, 22, is one of the apprentices and is currently on placement with the Daybrook Unit at Nottingham City Hospital which supports with the rehabilitation of stroke patients.
He said: “If someone has suffered an injury, then it can affect their physical, mental, and social functions, and our role is to help them find that new normal. The key thing is that everyone is different, and so everyone will recover differently and will have different goals.
“It’s a privilege to be part of someone’s rehab and you get to make such a positive difference in helping them to reach their goals.”
Pictured: Jodie Bryant