Day in the life of dedicated staff at Bath's bustling hospital
The Royal United Hospitals (RUH) in Bath serves a catchment area of over 500,000 people and has a whopping 4,800 employees. If you visit their website- as of time of writing- it will say the RUH is "currently very busy", with doctors, nurses, and health professionals working around the clock to care for the community.
This is the story of two of them. Dominic McBurney, a diagnostic radiographer, has just started his career at the RUH this year after graduating from University of West England (UWE) in Bristol.
Medicine is something of a McBurney family tradition: "My mum used to be a radiographer, so it was something that was always around me growing up and there was always an interest there. I also like talking to people and using incredible equipment – so the job really appealed to me!"
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"The degree course was perfect as it gives you time to learn on the job through work placements, which I found so helpful. It’s when you get to ask all the questions you need to and get such helpful supervision – you learn so much."
He continued: "You’ll find me based mainly in our emergency department, carrying out x-rays for broken bones and imaging chests for possible infections."
Dominic is an allied health professional (AHP). This label encompasses many careers, including radiographers like Dominic, art therapists who help people express their feelings through painting, prosthetists who help provide prosthetic limbs, paramedics who respond to medical emergencies, and more.
Speaking on his role as an AHP, Dominic said: "It’s a great job and the RUH has supported me really well with my career progression too, providing funding for extra training and giving me opportunities to work across departments with other AHP teams to further my experience.”
Meanwhile, Chelle Wright has been working at the RUH for 14 years but is just starting her journey to become a AHP, in her case a physiotherapist. She said: “I’ve worked at the RUH for many years, but when the opportunity came up for me to start an apprenticeship I didn’t have to think twice.
“Most people would associate apprenticeships with younger people just starting out in their careers but I hope to show it’s never too late to become an apprentice and learn new skills. The RUH is a great place to work – I wouldn’t still be here if it wasn’t! I’m part of a fantastic, supportive team and am really enjoying my role."
She continued: "You get such a sense of achievement when you get someone mobile and back home. You know you’ve really helped to improve their quality of life.”
You can view current vacant AHP roles on the RUH's website. You can also find out more about training for a career as an allied health professional online.