Bridgwater & Taunton College

The nationwide shortage of qualified nurses is well documented, but the problem is particularly acute in Somerset, a county with no major cities or traditional university campuses, and where outcomes for young people are amongst the worst in the country. Historically, young people wishing to enter the nursing profession have had no choice but to leave home to gain the necessary degree qualification, with those already employed by the NHS aspiring to progress further unable to do so without major disruption to home and family life.

However, Bridgwater & Taunton College (BTC) has spent a decade negotiating, collaborating and innovating to overcome this challenge, and now, in partnership with the college, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust is strategically addressing the biggest workforce challenges and threats to sustainable health care across the region.

BTC was the first FE college in England to gain Nursery and Midwifery Council approval to deliver direct-entry (via UCAS), fee-paying registered nursing degrees in its own right. Through its higher education arm, University Centre Somerset, 430 students have been enrolled to its higher level nursing programmes since September 2021. Attrition rates are low at only 8% compared to national attrition rates of 25%, and 100% of those who have successfully completed a nursing degree have been directly employed into the NHS across the Southwest region.

BTC was also the first FE College to be invited and accepted into the Council of Deans of Health and it now sits alongside university healthcare faculties at the heart of policy and political debate.

The health and social care provision at BTC is a superb example of how a college can respond to local workforce demand and widen participation to health careers. Not only has it opened up exciting new career and progression routes for individuals of all ages in Somerset, but in doing so has made a hugely positive contribution to the health and wellbeing of the entire community, whilst also ensuring that local talent is retained in-county, where it is desperately needed to help resolve a critical workforce crisis.

In 2023, BTC was awarded a The Queen’s Anniversary Prize in recognition of its innovative approach to healthcare education, particularly its efforts in tackling the shortage of qualified nurses in the region and the role it has played in transforming career opportunities and healthcare provision in Somerset.