Property portal, Rightmove[i] recently reported that many homebuyers are planning to escape to the country as they saw a 125 per cent increase in people looking to move to villages after the Covid-19 lockdown. Mortgage approvals also increased in July to their highest levels since February[ii].
With the temporary reduction in stamp duty until March 2021 with no duty to be paid on houses below £500K – now is a great time for nurses looking for new career opportunities and better work/life balance to relocate to Northamptonshire, which offers stunning countryside with affordable housing, but with good links to the rest of the UK.
Kettering General Hospital (KGH) is on a recruitment drive and has several exciting nursing roles, including a nurse with experience or an interest in oncology and haematology, a nurse to work in sub-acute general medical wards for patients that are nearing or, who are medically fit and needing re-enablement and discharge planning and a Paediatric Deputy Sister/Charge Nurse to work in the Children's Emergency Department Team.
One nurse who has seen her career flourish since she relocated to Kettering is Rebecca Prendergast. Rebecca worked in London for twelve years before deciding to relocate to Kettering for a better lifestyle for her family. What she didn’t expect, was the amazing career that lay ahead at Kettering General Hospital.
Rebecca was keen to relocate to a decent-sized hospital that offered plenty of development opportunities, plus she wanted to purchase a home. In London, Rebecca and her husband had rented a flat without any garden and the rent was so high it had impacted their ability to save. They wanted to move to buy a family house in a good area and settle down.
Kettering proved ideal. It is an attractive place, with good schools and affordable homes. The town also has great transport links and is just under one hour by train to London, which meant they could easily visit friends and family. Rebecca applied for a surgery nursing job at Kettering General Hospital and her career has blossomed.
Rebecca explains, “In London, I was a band 6 nurse and had worked on neurosurgical wards and had experience in abdominal and bowel surgery. However, I was given a band 7 role at Kettering General Hospital. When I arrived for my interview, I was amazed at the various surgical specialities and the impressive facilities at the hospital, including 12 theatres. I realised there would be great opportunities to develop my skills.”
“Career-wise the move has been excellent. The surgery here is very dynamic and the ward is always busy. The team have amazing and diverse skills. We’re a close-knit team and we can phone the surgeons on their mobiles if we have questions, but we also have plenty of autonomy as we are a nurse-led discharge team. We get lots of feedback from patients and receive so many thank you notes – it is very rewarding.”
Rebecca adds “I quickly realised that it is not only hospitals in London where nurses can really develop their careers. At Kettering, there are so many specialities for nurses and there aren’t any barriers to progression. The other benefits of working here are flexible work hours, which are great for people with children and there is a very caring atmosphere. Staff are offered health checks and mindfulness sessions and there is a real drive to promote staff wellbeing too. Relocating here was the best decision I have made.”
Kettering General Hospital is one of the key partners in the ‘Best of Both Worlds’ recruitment campaign. The campaign brings together the University of Northampton, Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Northampton General Hospital, Kettering General Hospital (KGH), St Andrew’s Healthcare and Northants GP and aims to recruit nurses, doctors and healthcare professionals to live and work in Northamptonshire.
To find out about other vacancies across Northamptonshire visit http://bestofbothworlds.uk.net/