Lucy Morgan, a 17-year-old from Carmarthenshire has talked about her experience of learning and developing new skills as an NHS health care apprentice within Hywel Dda University Health Board.

Her story began after she left school in June 2024 when her cousin shared an advert with her about the Apprenticeship Academy. Lucy, supported by her family, went along to the Academy’s information session in Graig Campus, Llanelli, where she met with the Academy team and heard some of the existing apprentices speak about their experiences of being in the Academy programme.

Lucy was invited to an assessment day for the programme, however, as it clashed with the day of her prom, the Academy Team arranged for her to attend the assessment on another day. Lucy was successful in passing the assessment, after which she had a comprehensive six-week induction on a range of topics, such as manual handling, skills to care, mandatory training, and development opportunities.

Lucy talked about her first day on the Prince Philip Hospital ward, when she learnt about the importance of talking with patients in their language of choice, which also helped her to improve her own Welsh language skills. As she progressed on the programme, Lucy developed more new skills and hands-on experiences, learning about many aspects of patient care, such as maintaining patient dignity and safety, observations, risk assessments, assisted feeding and personal care. She relished the chance to learn from other health professionals, who supported her in her apprentice journey.

A typical day for Lucy now starts with a 7am handover to understand the needs of the patients on the ward, donning her personal protective equipment, and preparing for the ward’s morning routine.

Lucy said “I found personal care to be quite daunting at the beginning, but now I am used to it. I don’t think twice about it anymore, I know patients need me to help them with this. If it were my nanna or my mum, I would want them to be spotless, and so should my patients.”

Amanda Glanville, Assistant Director of People Development in the health board, who leads the Apprenticeship Academy scheme said, “I am very grateful to Lucy for sharing her story and encourage anyone who might be interested in following the same path towards a career in the NHS to get in touch with us.”

Lucy has received the news that she has moved from supernumerary to substantive, meaning she has passed her review, becoming a fully functioning Health Care Support Worker (HCSW).

Lucy added: “Apprenticeship is the best thing I have ever done! Thanks to the health board and the Academy team for giving me a chance to become the nurse I have always wanted to be.”

For more information about the Apprenticeship Academy scheme and how to get involved, visit Apprenticeship Academy - Hywel Dda University Health Board