Employment as a nurse in the UK

There are many and varied employers of nurses within the UK. The majority of nurses, midwives and health visitors in the UK work either in the hospital setting or in the community within NHS Trusts or Primary Care Trusts.

However, nurses are also employed in a wide variety of settings, including the following:

Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) - a network of laboratories around England and Wales established to detect, diagnose and monitor communicable diseases for prevention and control.

Private hospitals and clinics

Private companies (for example pharmaceutical companies)

Prison and Police Services

Academic institutions (for example Universities)

Armed Forces

Nursing agencies (for occasional work)

Nursing agencies

Nursing agencies are independent organisations which are often employed by hospitals or Trusts to fill staffing shortages within the trust at any particular time. The agency may be able to place nurses in longer term work in the same location. Alternatively, they may only be able to offer occasional shifts at different hospitals or in the community within the locality.

Nursing Banks are run by the Trust itself, and again offer occasional work for nurses which may be long term or one off shifts.