Students' week of protests against bursary cut hailed a success

A week of action by nursing students protesting against the proposed loss of the NHS bursary has been called a success by its organisers.

The event, which began on February 8 and ended today (Monday, February 15), was created by the NHS Bursary Cuts Forum following anger at chancellor George Osborne’s plan to replace bursaries with loans from August 2017.

On February 10, nursing students stopped work on their placements for an hour to join striking junior doctors on picket lines.

Other protests included students posing with banners in front of well-known landmarks across England. The action was extended to the internet where nurses urged health secretary Jeremy Hunt to resign during a campaign on February 9, and on February 11 social media users shared photos and memories of nursing throughout history.

Co-organiser Danielle Tiplady said: ‘We got our message across and received positive feedback from colleagues, politicians and the public.’