A Bradford nurse is planning to jump out of a plane to raise money for the hospital charity where she works.
Jessica Beattie, a registered nurse working for the Education department at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (BTHFT), is doing a 10,000ft tandem free-fall skydive on 3 August for Bradford Hospitals Charity (BHC) near Bridlington.
Jessica explained:
BHC works to provide the very best for our patients and colleagues, funding over and above what is routinely provided by the NHS. It upgrades life-changing medical equipment, supports our patients and their families, creates a comfortable environment, and invests in the development and wellbeing of our staff.
My husband, Chris, has tried to get me to do a skydive for years and every time he’s mentioned it, I have said: ‘Absolutely not and never in a million years … but here we are …so the fact that I have relented and agreed to do one is big deal!’
Jessica, who lives in Idle but is originally from Scarborough, is also hoping to promote the work of nursing associates within the Trust’s hospitals.
The nursing associate was a new, registered role created by NHS in England in 2016, with the first cohort qualifying from 2019, that bridged the gap between health and care assistants and registered nurses.
Nursing associates work with people of all ages in a variety of settings in health and social care, delivering hands-on, person-centred care as a vital part of a wider health or care team.
Jessica continued:
I support trainee nursing associates and nursing associates to learn while working and this year the Trust will be hosting a recognition event in September to celebrate the importance of their roles at the Trust.
As BHC supports this event every year, I wanted to give something back to them, our patients and my colleagues.
The nursing trainee associate apprenticeship is also very close to my heart as this is how I entered healthcare. It enabled me to go from being a cadet nurse apprenticeship, to educating and helping me gain my nursing degree with the Open University. NHS opportunities like this help so many professionals progress and provides support to help achieve through learning and earning. I want people out in Bradford to know that they can ‘jump’ into trainee nursing associate apprenticeship roles available at BTHFT. Together we can achieve so much.
Anyone wanting to sponsor Jessica’s jump should go to https://tinyurl.com/Jessica-Beattie