We are committed to maximising the funded places available to meet the needs of service. This must be balanced with ensuring a high-quality learning experience and supervision support, is in place for all learners. However, this year demand for HSST posts may exceed the HEI capacity and the NHS England funding model. Therefore, it is possible that some posts may not be filled.
Due to this, there may be an adjusted admissions process to allow for the moderation of applications whilst ensuring we have the best applicants to meet the needs of patients and workforce demands. This will be based on:
- HEI capacity (only for Vascular Science) – where there is limited capacity to train but more requests for places
- NHS England funding availability
- whether the post is deemed a recruitment priority area for 2025, namely Microbiology, Cardiac Science, Respiratory and Sleep Science, Radiotherapy Physics, Audiological Science and Imaging Physics
The interview process remains the same and requires all applicants to attend an online interview to ascertain their suitability and preparedness for the programme. This is in line with current NHS England and National School of Healthcare Science (NSHCS) recruitment procedures.
At the end of the recruitment cycle, when all interviews have been completed and the priority specialties have been considered, the remaining posts with successful applicants will be determined based on interview performance.
Applicants who pass the interview process but have not scored as highly to initially secure a post will be placed on a reserve list. Following the selection process, if a successful applicant withdraws the NSHCS will contact the next highest scoring applicant from the reserve list, to support them starting the HSST in 2025.
If no places become available in 2025, the reserve applicants will not be considered for deferred admission and will need to re-apply in the next recruitment round.