Practice Plus Group Hospital, Southampton is celebrating Neurodiversity Awareness Week (17 March 2025) this week with five new neurodiverse interns.
“This opportunity has shown me I can get a job. This is a job like I have never done before, it’s changed my perspective of a hospital and how it works.”
Charlie Richards, intern at Theatres Sterile Services Unit
College students with a learning disability or autism spectrum conditions, or both, have been given an opportunity to gain valuable work experience at Practice Plus Group Hospital, Southampton, within Royal South Hants NHS hospital.
The partnership between the hospital, Hampshire College Group, the charity DFN’s Project SEARCH and Southampton City Council Young Adults Employment Hub is as part of a one-year transition to work programme designed to give the young adults a taste of working life, work experience that will help them get a job, and an opportunity to be employed at the hospital.
Now seven weeks into a 24-week placement, the Interns aged between 18 and 23 are thrilled with the experience they have gained so far.
Currently five interns are being supported in gaining valuable hospital work experience in roles including data input, medical record management, portering, stores and sterile services.
Charlie Richards, 20, who is working in Theatres Sterile Servicing Unit, comments, “This opportunity has shown me I can get a job. This is a job like I have never done before, it’s changed my perspective of a hospital and how it works.” Fellow intern Iwan Kilroy, 23, who is working in Stores, adds, “I love it. I’ve settled in well. I am now working more independently in a very supportive team.”
“From a personal perspective, seeing the growth in confidence and capability has been inspiring and heart-warming. From a business perspective, this project makes sense…I feel like a proud parent watching the exponential rise in the confidence of our amazing interns.”
Sherry McBain, ARRC, Head of Nursing and Clinical Services
Lorna Cantwell, Lead Job Coach at South Hampshire College Group, says:
“The opportunity has been a wonderful experience so far. An outstanding opportunity for students to gain the experience into a role within a hospital setting in various departments. The induction was the best ever. The staff have made us all feel so welcome. I actually feel like I want to work for PPG.”
Practice Plus Group Hospital, Southampton, works closely with the college’s job coaches to ensure students are fully supported and that their achievements are reviewed and communicated regularly.
Sherry McBain ARRC, Head of Nursing and Clinical Services at the hospital says, ‘It’s been a learning curve for all involved, and the benefits are mutual and significant.
“The staff in these areas have embraced the opportunity, acting as ‘buddies’ to the interns and ensuring the Interns are fully integrated and supported. From a personal perspective, seeing the growth in confidence and capability has been inspiring and heart-warming. From a business perspective, this project makes sense; our teams have benefitted enormously by developing their own knowledge and skills in thinking differently and more inclusively. I feel like a proud parent watching the exponential rise in the confidence of our amazing interns.”
George Pickersgill, DFN’s Project SEARCH, adds: “DFN Project SEARCH is a one-year transition to work programme for young people with additional needs. Currently there are only 4.8 of young people with learning difficulties/ and or autism that transition from education to employment. We are battling this awful statistic by pairing up with leading businesses such as Practise Plus Group who will become host to a group of young neurodiverse students and provide supported internships that lead to meaningful competitive employment.”
Practice Plus Group Hospital, Southampton, treats private and NHS patients and specialises in hip and knee surgery, hernia treatment and cataract surgery. Patients who choose to go private with Wellsoon from Practice Plus Group can access surgery in as few as 4-6 weeks of seeing a consultant. Initial consultations cost £95 and include X-rays, blood tests and swabs. NHS patients can also ask their GP for a referral to the hospital.
