Interns’ great endeavours celebrated at Sutton hospital

DFN Project SEARCH is a one-year transition to work programme for young adults with a learning disability.

West Nottinghamshire College supports this campaign and has students currently enjoying paid placements, building their skills at Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust, working with Medirest and Skanksa teams, as well as the Trust’s mattress decontamination team.

Shaun Cross, Drew Clarke and Nathan Florence have all celebrated the end of their internships at the trust’s King’s Mill Hospital in Sutton, with certificates of achievements and well-deserved praise from Paul Robinson, SFH chief executive.

The college’s internship team, together with representatives from Medirest, Skanska and SFH, spoke about the incredible journeys undertaken by the interns during their time in the various departments at the hospital.

Drew, aged 23, from Kirkby, began college in January, but was uncertain of the kind of career he wanted to go into. However, he was open to suggestions, which is when teachers explained DFN Project SEARCH to him.

He began his first rotation placement at King’s Mill, working for the Medirest team, which provides cleaning, catering, portering, linen and security services for the trust.

Shaun, 20, was nervous and shy when he started his first rotation in the Skanska stores at King’s Mill. He was supported by the job coach and after two weeks of one-to-one support Shaun had gained the confidence to be left to work alone with his mentors. Having support gave him the safety and security he needed to grow in confidence, personality and practical skills.

Nathan, 22, previously studied at Portland Charity and Inspire College. At the start of his journey with DFN Project Search, Nathan had no clear career path and was open to suggestions around roles at the hospital.

He started his first rotation at King’s Mill in November 2022 with the support of a job coach to help him in his role as window cleaner. He integrated well into the staff team and improved his communication skills to build professional working relationships and moved on to work in the laundry section of the hospital.

Nathan was presented with an extra special ‘award’ on the day, as it was announced he had secured a permanent role within the hospital housekeeping team.

Louise Pilter, college employability and special educational needs and disabilities manager, said: “I couldn’t be prouder of Nathan, Drew and Shaun – they’ve truly excelled in so many areas during their time at the hospital.

“The internships have proven to be somewhat life-changing experiences for them all and it has given them goals to work towards for their future careers.

“They have represented themselves and the college impeccably throughout their periods of work across a number of areas in the hospital and everyone involved in their teaching and mentoring has noted great improvements in both their skills and their confidence.”

Jacqueline Wix, trust admin and audit officer for estates and facilities, said: “The change in them through this year has been remarkable and I am so passionate and proud to be part of this programme. It doesn’t just impact the interns positively, it impacts everyone they work with also.”