Paralysed biker from Norfolk becomes face of NHS recruitment drive to fill 47,000 nurse vacancies
A biker paralysed in a crash has become the face of a campaign to try to plug an NHS staffing shortage.
Ben Tansley was left fighting for his life after being thrown from his motorbike on the A148 in Norfolk in August 2017.
The father-of-two, from King's Lynn, underwent eight hours of spinal surgery and ended up with 10 metal screws in his back.
During three months in hospital, he was strapped to a bed for six weeks and told he would never walk again.
Five years on, he is still recovering but, while he remains dependent on a wheelchair at times, he is now able to walk short distances.
The 37-year-old gym owner has agreed to share his story as part of a NHS recruitment campaign highlighting just how many health and care workers it took to get Mr Tansley back on his feet.
He said he owed the NHS his life.
"The NHS has helped me from day one - from lying on the road to actually returning home," he said. "You realise how many people are involved in caring for you - from nursing auxiliary who come round and deliver your food to the physios and the doctors who give you the medical advice."
The We Are The NHS campaign highlights the "ordinary people doing extraordinary jobs".
With a record 47,000 nursing, midwifery and health visitor vacancies, bosses hope it will inspire people to choose a career in the health service.
Ben Tansley's story is at the heart of the new NHS recruitment campaign
Ruth May, chief nursing officer for England, said the winter months would put even greater demand on the NHS as it battled to cut waiting lists off the back of the Covid 19 pandemic.
She said: "I am so proud to be a nurse in the NHS and so proud of every single colleague who has risen to the challenges facing the health service in recent years to continue to deliver the very best care to patients and their families.
"It truly is one of the most rewarding jobs you can do."
The Royal College of Nursing said it welcomed the campaign but warned it would only succeed if the right funding was in place.
Teresa Budrey said: "We've had shortages of nurses and healthcare workers for years now. It's a really important investment.
"But if we don't then pay those workers fairly and well, and invest in them, they won't stay."
From paramedics, air ambulance crews, accident and emergency teams, surgeons, and nurses, to radiographers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and orthotists, Mr Tansley has experienced a significant number of the 350 careers in the NHS.
Mr Tansley has been documenting his recovery on Instagram as tano_hg.
In his first post after the crash, he said: "Four weeks ago I was in a motorbike accident and exploded my T4 vertebrae in my back leaving me paralysed from the chest down."Now I know I have a challenging journey ahead, however I think it's going to be an interesting one too, so I thought it might make sense to share it all with you."
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