Luke and Eddy have graduated from a study programme with work experience at the hospital, set up by an autism charity.
A similar hospital internship was started two years ago in east London when 12 youngsters, including some with learning disabilities or autism, were taken on by the Havering and Redbridge NHS trust.
Luke and Eddy have graduated from ‘supported’ internships at The Whittington in Archway for ages 16 to 25 for those with education and health plans who need support to get jobs.
The Ambitious About Autism national charity, based in Muswell Hill, has been working with the hospital since 2019 to offer work placements to autistic youngsters along with classroom learning to improve their ‘employability’ skills and independence.
Eddy, 23, now has a job as healthcare assistant in the endoscopy department, while Luke has moved on as a play worker at a children’s football club.
“Graduating from this programme is a milestone in my life,” Eddy said proudly. “People like me can achieve things we never thought possible with the right support.”
The interns are placed in various departments including stores, neurology and endoscopy, while some also work at the Second Chance charity shop in Archway.
The charity’s Rahma Maina said: “Luke and Eddy have brought so much to their placements. The programme for autistic young people is to realise their ambitions.”
The same principle was adopted in 2023 at Ilford’s King George Hospital, which took on 12 youngsters with learning disabilities or autism, giving them on-the-job training as porters or in catering, admin, medical records in wards or departments like X-ray and ophthalmology.
Since then, the Ambitious About Autism national charity has teamed up with Chessington World of Adventures for ‘supported internships’ and is running two more from September, with Amazon consumer technology in Weybridge and Chartwells catering service in Brighton.
Fewer than one-in-three autistic people currently get any form of work, the charity points out. The programmes are part of a long-term strategy to tackle the low employment rates of autistic people.
