THE first wave of students have been enrolled on an innovative course aimed to tackle the shortage of nurses in the country.

Somerset was chosen as one of 35 pilot areas for the new nursing associates across England, delivering training to 2,000 trainee nursing associates.

The new role will help forge a new career path between health and care support workers who have a care certificate, and graduate registered nurses by offering opportunities for health care assistants to progress into nursing roles.

A total of 24 trainees have signed up for the nursing associates foundation degree at the University Centre Somerset, part of Bridgwater and Taunton College.

Partner organisations in Somerset include the University of the West of England (UWE), Somerset Partnership, Yeovil District Hospital and Musgrove Park Hospital.

Mike Robbins, principal of Bridgwater and Taunton College, and Dawn Dawson from Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, gave talks to the students at the launch on April 27.

Mr Robbins said: “We are delighted to have been chosen as a delivery partner for this pilot project, which is the first of what will be many new higher education programmes offered through our University Centre. We are pleased to be supporting the Health & Care sector in which we have established a strong reputation for education and training.”

The degree has been developed in collaboration with UWE and is being delivered by the University Centre Somerset at the Taunton site.

The college is one of only two Further Education institutions nationally to be offering this pilot scheme.

As part of the two year programme, students will be offered a range of placements including caring for patients in hospital and in their homes.

It offers healthcare assistants career development, and a step towards becoming a registered nurse.

Dawn Dawson, deputy director of Nursing and Patient Safety at Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The programme has been developed to enhance the delivery of high quality care to people in Somerset and bridge the gap between Healthcare Assistants and Nurses. We are looking forward to seeing a successful pilot programme that we can subsequently roll out more widely.”

The pilot will be monitored through its duration with the hope that it will become available for new applicants in the near future.