New scheme to tackle fall in nursing students
Getty ImagesA university has launched a campaign to tackle the falling number of nursing students.
According to the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), 33% fewer UK nursing students were expected to start courses in September compared with 2021.
The Royal College of Nursing said low starting salaries and a spike in student nursing applicants during the Covid-19 pandemic were partly behind the downturn.
The University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich said its 'This Nurse Can' campaign hoped to inspire future nurses "put off" by NHS working conditions.
"Nursing bursaries were taken away by previous governments and cost of living has been among the highest it's ever been," Simon Rose, a lecturer in paramedic science at the UEA, said.
"We're seeing a gap open up between the number of nurses we need in our NHS and the volume of those coming in.
"My worry moving forward is that the workforce won't be able to sustain what we're currently doing."
About 31,000 nursing students are expected to start courses in September - a fall of 16,000 compared with 2021.
UEAJoe Ellis-Gage, a UEA nursing lecturer, said the 'This Nurse Can' campaign hoped to destigmatise the "traditional view" of nursing.
"There might be people out there who might think 'that's not for me', but actually it might be," he said.
"There might be a really interesting role you're suited to.
"We want to show that nurses work on ambulances, on cruise ships and on construction sites."
Last March, the NHS had 31,000 nursing vacancies, which included midwives and health visitors.
That was a fall from 40,000 the year before.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We inherited a broken NHS, where staff have been undervalued and demoralised for years.
"We have raised pay, ended strikes, and are determined to work with staff to rebuild our NHS together.
"This summer we will unveil a refreshed workforce plan, so the NHS has the right people in the right places to give patients the care they deserve."
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