NHS new recruitment campaign features boy from Birmingham
The campaign is trying to recruit more nurses into the profession
The NHS has launched its annual nationwide drive to recruit more nurses as it tries to fill tens of thousands of vacancies across England.
The campaign called 'We Are The NHS' spotlights the varied NHS nursing roles on offer and features patients whose nurses helped them towards recovery.
And one of these patients is 14-year-old Ashton Hulme from Birmingham. He was diagnosed with bone cancer two years ago and had to have his lower leg amputated as a result.
But his mum Vicky said the nurses were the family's "lifeline."
"They became our friends, our family, our support network and they also saved my son's life. I will be eternally grateful for the help we received from the nurses at the NHS," she said.
England's chief nurse Ruth May described the role as a "life-changing profession" where people can make a difference to someone's life, but the drive comes as NHS staff are preparing for a challenging winter with the combined impact of flu, Covid and record vacancies.
There are more than 46,828 nursing, midwifery, and health visiting vacancies in the NHS in England, making it even more vital to recruit people into the profession.
And Ashton has now made a full recovery after high-intensity chemotherapy and multiple major surgeries. He has big aspirations to become a football player and he hopes to be fitted with a prosthetic limb that will help him continue to play.