Axing student bursaries will deter many from careers in nursing

Hundreds of student nurses are expected at a UNISON-supported protest outside the Department of Health later today (Wednesday) against government plans to axe the NHS bursary for nursing degrees. In last week’s spending review, the Chancellor announced that next September would be the last time anyone in England could apply for the bursary. Organised by student nurses, the two-hour protest starts at 2pm outside Richmond House on Whitehall. They are campaigning to save the bursary that helps around 15,000 students a year become nurses. During the afternoon, the trainee nurses aim to hand in a letter to Jeremy Hunt urging the government to think again about replacing the bursary with loans and tuition fees. From September 2017, any student applying for a nursing degree will have to take out a loan to cover their tuition fees. UNISON has calculated that a student graduating in 2020 could leave with debts over £50,000, yet be starting out in the workplace on a salary under £23,000. UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis said: “There’s already a desperate shortage of nurses. Scrapping the NHS bursary the year after next will simply make an already bad situation much worse. “Nursing trainees tend to be older than other students, and may already have debt to pay off from a first degree. They’re also more likely to have families, and are likely to balk at the prospect of going even further into the red, and taking on yet more loans that could take 30 years or more to pay o...
Source: UNISON Health and safety news - Category: Occupational Health Authors: Tags: News Press release dave prentis NHS student nurses Source Type: news