Posted 28 September 2023 - 13:23
Posted 28 September 2023 - 13:23
News
Write off student debt to boost nurse numbers in NHS, experts say
‘Leaky training pipeline’ of students and newly qualified staff is failing to produce the number of nurses needed
‘Leaky training pipeline’ of students and newly qualified staff is failing to produce the number of nurses needed
High rates of nursing students not finishing their courses and newly qualified nurses leaving early in their careers have prompted calls for the government to write off student loan debt for NHS staff.
A report from think tank the Nuffield Trust warns of a ‘highly leaky’ training pipeline in the NHS workforce; for every five nurse training places, about three full-time nurses join the NHS, it says.
‘New and worrying dynamic’ as UK-trained nurse numbers continue to fall
About 13% of nursing students due to complete their degree between 2014 and 2020 left before finishing their course, and 18% of nurses left NHS hospital and community settings within two years of starting their employment, says the report.
A recent Nursing Standard analysis found more than one in three students due to complete their nursing studies in 2022 did not do so, representing an attrition rate of 35%.
The Nuffield Trust report also raises concerns about low levels of home-grown NHS workers. The number of UK nurses joining the NHS dropped by around a third in the two years after 2019-20, ‘equivalent to a fall of over 6,000 (UK) nurses joining the NHS’, it says, in what the authors label a ‘new and worrying dynamic’.
Report author Billy Palmer said: ‘A key symptom of the struggles of our domestic pipeline is our heavy reliance on overseas recruitment. Our domestic pipeline is only producing about half of nurses, midwives and nursing associates joining the register.’
Call for loan ‘forgiveness scheme’ for healthcare students who go on to work in NHS
The think tank called for a student loan ‘forgiveness scheme’ for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals to reduce attrition rates. It says this would cost around £230 million a year in England.
It proposes the scheme could reduce student debt by 30% after three years of service in the NHS, 70% after seven years and write it off completely after ten years.
Dr Palmer said this would reduce a typical nurse’s debt by about £8,000 over ten years, taking their lifetime repayment amount from £28,000 to about £20,000.
The NHS bursary scheme in England was scrapped in 2017. Students must now apply to the Student Loans Company if they need help to fund their degrees. In addition, the NHS Learning Support Fund provides eligible students with additional support while studying, including a £5,000 training grant per year.
RCN says reducing nurses’ student debts would boost recruitment and retention
The RCN said such a scheme would help boost recruitment and retention in the NHS. RCN deputy director for nursing Nichola Ashby said: ‘Many people choose to become a nurse so they can help care for some of the sickest and most vulnerable people in our society – and it is wrong that they should be saddled with, on average, almost £50,000 of debt.’
A government spokesperson said: ‘Data shows those on nursing, allied health and psychology courses have similar, and in some areas better, rates of attainment, completion and progression compared to other subjects. The current student finance system strikes the right balance between the interests of students and of taxpayers.’
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