28 April 2026
Ever wondered what it's like to work in a busy NHS comms team?
Two university students spent a week with us at SPFT and have written about their experience.
Thanks to Rachel Keenan and Neve Howson for this blog:
"We all have an expectation of what work experience looks like. For us, it was not a good one. Sat in the corner of an office, forgotten by unwelcoming staff members and completing countless admin tasks which do not reveal what work in the field looks like.
Work experience at Sussex Partnership could not be further from this.
From the minute we entered the building we were greeted with a smile from everyone. The communications team welcomed us immediately. It is clear that each member is extremely passionate about their job and were always willing to answer every question we had.
The information that we managed to gather from our week's experience would not have been possible without their informative answers. Having a wealth of information from experienced professionals who were eager to share was invaluable.
Far from hidden in the corner of the office doing coffee runs and admin tasks, we were immersed into what a week in communications looked like. Everyday we were stationed with a different team member who exposed us to what their role entails. We were not just told about what they did but were able to work on campaigns, interview lead researchers and design social media posts.
On day one, we were greeted by Sam, the lead graphic designer. Sam explained his role in the communications team and told us all about the branding, how he came up with the colours and designs, and we had a go at designing graphics ourselves. We also were involved in a meeting with some of comms team in which we got to know their pathways into their careers and discover that when it comes to communications in the public or private sector, they all chose to work public for one common goal, to help people.
We then met Sarah on Wednesday who taught us all about press releases and we got the opportunity to interview a lead researcher to get more information. We also offered advice on how to make it more engaging by including a personal blog of a participant's lived experience. We also offered our perspective on their current social media channels and offered insights into ways they can direct it to a younger audience.
Thursday included campaign planning with Justine where we gained valuable knowledge in outlining the campaign and the benefits of background research. Like Wednesday, we created more social media content for the Trust, making sure our objectives and signposts to help were clear.
Finally, Friday involved learning about the internal communications including the bulletin, intranet and scheduling posts. We wrote up news stories for the upcoming intranet's news page and summarised them for the bulletin. It was interesting getting an insight into the behind the scenes of informing the entire Trust.
We couldn’t have asked for a better team, they were just as eager as we were for this week to be a success. It was a privilege to be trusted with these tasks that made a tangible contribution to the Trust. They really wanted the best outcome for us both to learn, gain confidence and find a passion for communications, something that was definitely achieved."
If you are interested in work experience at Sussex Partnership, there are some further details here.
