Latest news with #studentnurses
BBC News
04-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Suffolk man calls for paid student nursing placements
The father of a student nurse said he was "blissfully ignorant" trainees were not paid for their NHS placements and has launched a petition. Alex Lawrence, from Eye, Suffolk, has called for the abolishment of student nursing university fees and unpaid placements after his daughter, Tabatha, started her Prinsley, the Labour MP for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket, previously worked in the NHS for 30 years and said he agreed with the petition.A government spokesperson said nurses played a "critical role" and there was a non-repayable grant of at least £5,000 available to help with their student placements. As part of nursing degrees, students have to complete 2,300 hours of clinical placements that are unpaid while also paying for their tuition fees."If you've got the support of a family that don't charge you keep, you don't have to pay rent, maybe [who] make sure you get there every day, that's absolutely lovely," Mr Lawrence, whose petition has more than 6,200 signatures, said."But I do worry dearly about all the people out there that aren't quite as lucky, that might be fantastic nurses, doctors and dentists, but because of the financial implications will never get the chance," he added. Mr Lawrence added he felt the non-repayable grant available to student nurses "barely" helped. Prinsley said he agreed with Mr Lawrence that nurses were "essential" and he would sign the petition. "If somebody asks me, 'Who looks after the patients?', I always say it is the nurses," he said."I agree with them that they certainly shouldn't be doing this for nothing."I think the whole thing really merits review." Melanie McAteer, Suffolk's senior officer for Royal College of Nursing, said there had been a 35% drop in students applying for nursing degrees since 2021, and 21% of students drop out of the course each year."We know that nursing students have shocking experiences of being unable to afford food, being homeless and facing uncertain employment after qualifying," she added.A spokesperson for the University of Suffolk said its applications for 2025 entry to undergraduate adult nursing were 3% lower compared with the same point last spokesperson added applications for children's nursing were higher and it had seen an uptake in nursing apprenticeships."Nurses play a critical role in providing high-quality, compassionate and safe care, as well as helping to restore our world-class NHS system, as part of our Plan for Change," a government spokesperson said."Eligible nurses receive a non-repayable grant of at least £5,000 per academic year from the NHS through the Learning Support Fund, in addition to maintenance and tuition fee loans provided by the Student Loans Company." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Independent
18-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
‘I slept in my car just to attend classes': Inside the financial hardship faced by student nurses at university
Student nurses are being forced to sleep in their cars and go to food banks due to a lack of financial support, the government has been told. Financial hardship is forcing nurses into 'devastating' situations while studying and, as graduates also struggle to get jobs after university, according to the Royal College of Nursing. The nurses' union said the situation was 'disgusting' and has written to health secretary Wes Streeting and education secretary Bridgette Phillipson, calling for better financial support for student nurses. RCN general secretary and chief executive professor Nicola Ranger said:'Your nurse education should be about fulfilling your potential, but instead many of our students are saddled with debt, whilst poor financial support drives them into poverty. To make matters worse, more and more say they are unable to secure a job when they qualify and at a time when there are widespread vacancies. It's disgusting and a tragedy for patients.' 'It was the lowest point in my life' One nurse in the West Midlands, Jess Dodds, 29, revealed she was homeless during her first year of university and had to sleep in her car for a week just to attend classes. She told The Independent: 'It was the lowest point in my life, I was away from home from, my parents, trying to make something of myself, yet I felt that I had nothing and I did not want to worry any of my family members back up north of my situation, I pretended everything was fine. 'I was embarrassed and ashamed that I had nowhere to go and call my own. After university, I would find somewhere cheap to eat or sometimes have nothing at all, then find somewhere to park and sleep for the night, whether that was in the university car park or a nearby industrial estate. She said: 'I would not sleep much because of fear someone would see me or call the police. Before university I would freshen up at a local gym or at the university toilets ready to start my day and repeat for some time until I found permanent accommodation.' Ms Dodds said as a result of her financial position her studies were impacted as if she was not able to connect to Wifi she would have to catch up before class. Reforms to the nursing bursary by the government in 2017 saw the removal of maintenance grants for student nurses to support living costs, worth at least £1,000 a year. The total value of the bursaries, no longer in existence, was up to £16,454 a year. In January 2024 the number of applicants to UK nursing degrees dropped to 31,100, from 45,090 in January 2017. 'If the bursary had not been cut, it would have allowed me to have more money available so I could have rented somewhere quicker rather than having to wait a while to save up the bond and deposit money. I felt let down by the system, especially with the type of profession I am studying for. I can only hope that no other student has to experience homelessness and lack of security,' Ms Dodds added. The situation for some is forcing students to use food banks and lectures having to offer to buy them food, according to the RCN. Annette Davies, a nurse and university lecturer, said: 'I can't believe I'm sending students lists of food banks where they can get food. I shouldn't be doing that, that's not right.' 'I have a colleague who, the other week, bought one of the students sandwiches. She had no food. She's got a 14-year-old son at home. We gave her money out of our pockets. We shouldn't be doing that, but what else were we to do?' The warning comes a year after health secretary Wes Streeting settled a pay dispute with nurses. However, warnings have come that the government could see new strikes over pay this year. According to the RCN, applications to nursing courses in 2021 have 'collapsed' by 35 per cent, while a survey from the union last year revealed seven in ten students were considering quitting due to financial difficulties. Meanwhile the RCN has warned nurses have reported difficulties finding jobs after graduation as the NHS seeks to cut down on its agency staff. A government spokesperson said: 'These reports are shocking and deeply saddening. They are a shameful marker of the broken NHS we inherited and our overworked, undervalued and demoralised workforce. 'We hugely value our student nurses, and we are supporting them with a grant of £5,000 per academic year, on top of maintenance and tuition fee loans. 'Through our Plan for Change, we are rebuilding our NHS for the benefit of patients and staff, and ensuring nursing remains an attractive career choice.'
