“During the visit and in their conversations with the Secretary of State, James and Joyce represented King’s, UCLH and the profession with confidence and professionalism. This was a great opportunity for James and Joyce to ensure the views and experiences of student nurses were heard directly by those leading NHS reform. Nurses, midwives and allied health professionals are crucial to the future of the NHS. We welcome the Graduate Guarantee which promises to offer greater job certainty and opportunities to nursing and midwifery students and those who have recently qualified.”
Professor Richard Harding, Interim Executive Dean of the Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care
14 August 2025
King's nursing students meet Wes Streeting to discuss the government's new Graduate Guarantee
Students from the Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care met the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care at UCLH this week
Chinwendu Joyce Christophers and James Foley are BSc Adult Nursing students at King’s and they are currently on clinical placement at University College Hospital London (UCLH). The students were invited to meet Wes Streeting when he visited the hospital to announce the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC’s) new Graduate Guarantee. The new policy will open up NHS vacancies for newly qualified nurses and midwives. These vacancies will become available this summer and are intended to remove uncertainty for students as they graduate, qualify and join the workforce.
During the visit, James and Joyce heard Wes Streeting explain what the new policy would mean for both nursing and midwifery students and recent graduates. Speaking to Wes after the announcement, James said: “It’s wonderful to have a plan and for this to be recognised, because I think before we just felt like it wasn’t being recognised and that no one was listening to us.”
Joyce added: “It's encouraging [that the government are] putting plans forward to help more newly qualified nurses get jobs.”
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Interim Executive Dean, Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care at King's College London