Student industry placements strengthen community health research

Overview

Healthwatch Swindon is one of many Healthwatch branches in England. It acts as a health and social care champion and gathers information from people in the community about their experiences with healthcare providers. They work closely with integrated care boards and aim to improve care provision for everyone by representing their needs and experiences.

Healthwatch Swindon partnered with New College Swindon to offer Health T Level students placements that are focused on patient-centred research and engagement. Students gathered feedback from the community, conducted surveys, and presented findings to healthcare teams, helping shape local services while developing key skills like communication, analysis, and advocacy.

The placements benefited Healthwatch by improving data collection and analysis, with some students staying on as volunteers or progressing to university or employment. Their contributions ensured patient voices were heard and used to inform service improvements across health and social care.

Key benefits and outcomes

• T Level students developed key skills in communication, research, advocacy and data analysis through hands-on engagement with patients and carers.
• Students gathered and analysed community feedback, contributing to reports that informed improvements in maternity care and prescription services.
• Students brought digital and analytical skills that helped Healthwatch Swindon work more efficiently and effectively.
• By prioritising patient and carer perspectives, students helped ensure public feedback shaped local health and social care services.
• Some students continued as volunteers, while others moved into employment or higher education, demonstrating the long-term impact of the industry placements.

What the organisation faced

Healthwatch Swindon needed to gather meaningful, patient-centred feedback from diverse community members to inform service improvements. This required individuals with strong communication and analytical skills who could engage with people in both formal healthcare settings and informal community spaces. Ensuring that students were well-prepared and suitable for this sensitive and varied work was also a key consideration.

What the organisation did

Healthwatch Swindon has worked with Swindon New College for the last three years to provide Health T Level student industry placements.

T Level students at Healthwatch Swindon take on structured research and engagement roles, supported by a clear role description and a joint recruitment process led by the college. Over a 150-hour placement, students work one day a week, combining office-based tasks with fieldwork in health and community settings. They gather patient feedback, conduct surveys, and engage with the public in places like hospitals, community cafés, and local support hubs.

Supervised by a volunteer officer, students develop key skills in communication, analysis, and advocacy. They gain confidence by presenting findings to senior healthcare leaders, such as community midwifery teams, and learn how their work can influence real service improvements. The experience broadens their career prospects and shows them the impact they can have in health and social care.

Results and benefits

Hosting T Level students has brought clear and lasting benefits to Healthwatch Swindon. Students arrive with a solid foundation of health-related knowledge and a strong motivation to engage with patients and carers. Their ability to gather feedback - both face-to-face and online - has helped ensure that a wide range of community voices are heard and represented in service evaluations.

The students’ digital confidence and analytical skills have enhanced the team’s capacity to process and interpret data from surveys and questionnaires. For example, in a project exploring access to prescriptions, students researched multiple services using both digital and paper-based tools. In another, they gathered insights from parents in maternity departments and shared their findings with key stakeholders. Their contributions have directly supported Healthwatch’s mission to assess service accessibility and recommend improvements.

Beyond data collection, students have helped write and present reports, gaining a deeper understanding of the barriers people face when accessing healthcare. Their involvement has not only strengthened Healthwatch’s work but also nurtured a new generation of professionals who prioritise patient and carer perspectives. Many students have continued as volunteers or progressed into employment or higher education, extending the impact of their placements well beyond the initial experience.

Takeaway tips

• Provide clear guidance to make sure students understand their roles and responsibilities and agree to their scope of practice and learning.
• Offering patient-centred research industry placements gives T Levels students the opportunity to develop key skills such as teamwork, advocacy, interpersonal communication, analytical thinking and problem-solving.
• Have T Level students join as a team member, let them contribute to research and present their findings to stakeholders – their work can have impact.

For more information about this case study, email Ann-Marie Scott, client relationship manager at The Care Forum.