Exclusive: Nursing students increasingly relying on hardship funds
Posted 16 June 2016 - 11:12
Millions of pounds are being paid to debt-ridden nursing students to prevent them from dropping out of university courses.
Data exclusively obtained by RCNi.com shows £5.2 million in discretionary funding has been handed out since 2013.
In total, 36 universities in England said that 6,573 nursing students resorted to hardship grants between September 2013 and March 2016.
Hand to mouthUnison head of nursing Gail Adams says: ‘Most nursing students are living hand to mouth. Hardship funds can make all the difference.’
Unite national officer for health Colenzo Jarrett-Thorpe says student funding problems – and the end of the student bursary in 2017 – are a ‘workforce time bomb’ for the NHS.
Mr Jarrett-Thorpe says: ‘Using hardship funds is a temporary solution, and what we need is to properly fund our students. Hardship funds are a last resort – they are not loans and they
...Want to read more?
Unlock full access to RCNi Plus today
Save over 50% on your first three months:
- Customisable clinical dashboard featuring 200+ topics
- Unlimited online access to all 10 RCNi Journals including Nursing Standard
- RCNi Learning featuring 180+ RCN accredited learning modules
- NMC-compliant RCNi Portfolio to build evidence for revalidation
- Personalised newsletters tailored to your interests
This article is not available as part of an institutional subscription. Why is this?