We offer work experience placements for school and college students over the age of 16 and members of the public who may be thinking about a change in their career.
We have a lot of demand for work experience placements and so we can only consider applicants that live in Sussex and unfortunately we’re not always able to accommodate all work experience requests. We also can’t place students in our emergency, theatres or maternity departments.
School holiday periods are the peak time for application so please consider asking for a placement time outside of school holidays.
Please note, if you haven’t received a response within three weeks of submitting your application then unfortunately your application has been unsuccessful.
All placements are unpaid and you’ll need to pay any costs for travel, subsistence or accommodation.
Eligibility
In order to protect the young person on the work experience placement, the trust has put in place the following age restrictions regarding placements; these restrictions are in place in eliminate inappropriate placements, where they may not be able to cope with the physical or emotional elements of the placement:
Students aged from 14 years until their 16th birthday, will be restricted to placements within administrative and clerical areas only, following review of the Risk Assessment. Work Experienced students must be supervised at all times.
Students aged 16 years until their 18th birthday, will be accepted for appropriate roles within the clinical areas where patients may be present, with the exception of the following areas: Emergency Departments, Trauma, all Theatre environments, Maternity, Paediatric, Gynaecology, Breast Care and Mortuaries. Placement can only start, following review of the Risk Assessment. Work Experienced students must be supervised at all times.
Students aged 18 years plus, will be accepted for appropriate clinical roles with the Trust, following review of the Risk Assessment. Work experience students must be supervised at all times.
Due to the demand for work experience we are not always able to accommodate all requests. We are committed to working with our partners in the community to provide work related experiences.
Process before your placement
Work experience agreement and identification
Please ensure you read the work experience agreement form sent to you. This contains essential information about work experience at our Trust. Please sign and return the agreement form before your placement date.
Identification for prove of age. A photograph or scanned copy of your passport or provisional/full driving licence. All placements are unpaid, and the Trust will not meet any costs of travel, food and drink or accommodation.
Occupational Health questionnaire
All students will be required to complete an Occupational Health questionnaire, if accepted into a work experience programme. The form must be completed and submitted to Occupational Health for review. A further Occupational Health Assessment may be required if the student is completing an enhanced Work Experience programme.
Risk assessment
There is a requirement to review risk assessments for each young person before they start their work experience. This is not required for people age 18 and over.
Induction
You will be required to participate in a virtual induction prior to your placement date.
Your work experience cannot take place until you have received a confirmation email from the work experience team.
Contact us
For further information on how to apply for a work experience placement please email: uhsussex.work.experience@nhs.net
Work experience application form
Complete the application formAllied Health Professionals online work experience
Health Education England have joined forces with Springpod to bring students an Allied Health Professional online work-related learning programme.
The programme will provide an overview of what a career as an allied health professional can offer, as well as develop key skills for the profession. There’s also the opportunity to hear from NHS professionals, learn about their day to day work, as well as about the different areas of the allied health professions and complete assignments.
After finishing the placement, you’ll be given a certificate which can be useful for CVs, personal statements and interviews.
Find out more about the opportunities on the Springpod website.