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Scrap nursing bursaries and bring in tuition fees, say universities By Jennifer Sprinks
@JenniferSprinks
Nursing students should pay for their own pre-registration training by taking out government loans, say universities. The Council of Deans of Health (CoDH) and Universities UK say the four UK governments should no longer pay the fees for pre-registration nursing courses, and bursaries should be scrapped. Instead, nursing students should be given loans to cover tuition fees and living expenses. The two bodies, which represent heads of health faculties and the university sector, respectively, argue the limited money for training new nurses leads to problems in workforce planning and, in turn, to staffing shortages. They are calling for a ‘fundamental system reform’ to cope with the pressure to increase the supply of health professionals and reduce the cost of education to the taxpayer. CoDH chair Jessica Corner said the overhaul would eradicate the ‘boom and bust cycles’ of workforce planning.
‘The current system does not allow for long-term management of workforce supply because it is designed to cope with short-term financial pressures,’ she said. ‘We need a system that allows a degree of expansion in numbers.’ While the proposal is mainly an attempt to address workforce supply problems, the bodies say it would
‘WE NEED A SYSTEM THAT ALLOWS FOR EXPANSION IN WORKFORCE NUMBERS’ also ease financial pressures on students, who often take extra loans to supplement their bursaries. The proposal suggests offering either to repay part of the student loan or to pay a retention bonus. According to the CoDH and Universities UK, 63% of one London university’s 2012/13 hardship fund went to NHS-funded students. Nursing students in London can apply for a means-tested bursary of £3,191 for 2015/16 and a non-means tested bursary of £1,000, while in
Scotland they receive a non-means tested bursary of £6,578. Tuition fees are currently set at £8,980 per year for London and £8,315 for the rest of England. However, Unison head of nursing Gail Adams said the proposed model is too radical and would deter people from poorer backgrounds. ‘The loan would lead to a haemorrhaging of students and they will receive no more than they do under the bursary system. The loan would saddle them with years of debt.’ NHS Employers director of development and employment Sue Covill said exploring alternative funding options is a ‘step in the right direction’, but added that the quality and cost effectiveness of education, and students’ experiences, should also be considered. University of Glasgow third-year nursing student Grant Byrne said: ‘We need to make nursing more attractive and introducing the fees would do the opposite. Huge tuition fees and a loan could deter a lot of people from going into nursing.’
The RCN hosted a delegation of nurses from Ghana last week to share ideas and best practice on nursing leadership and influencing government policy. Members of the Ghana Registered Nurses’ Association met college officials in London. Hosted by RCN president Cecilia Anim, a native Ghanaian, the organisations discussed common challenges, including pay and staffing levels. Kwaku Asante-Krobea, the group’s president, said that in some health settings in Ghana there is just one nurse to 22 patients. ‘We are letting the government know we do not get good care for patients by magic with these ratios,’ he said.
BARNEY NEWMAN
Ghana delegation and the RCN swap notes on pay and staffing
From left to right: Alice Asare-Allotey, Kwame Adinkra Amo, Cecilia Anim, Dinah Adjoa Quagraine, Kwaku Asante-Krobea and Clara Nana Ghanem outside the RCN’s London headquarters
NURSING STANDARD july :: voluses 29 without no 45 ::permission. 2015 7 Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Dec 07, 2015. For personal use only. No8other Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
Share your news with us – email [email protected], call +44 (0)20 8872 3144 or @NurseStandard
Scrap nursing bursaries and bring in tuition fees, say universities By Jennifer Sprinks
@JenniferSprinks
Nursing students should pay for their own pre-registration training by taking out government loans, say universities. The Council of Deans of Health (CoDH) and Universities UK say the four UK governments should no longer pay the fees for pre-registration nursing courses, and bursaries should be scrapped. Instead, nursing students should be given loans to cover tuition fees and living expenses. The two bodies, which represent heads of health faculties and the university sector, respectively, argue the limited money for training new nurses leads to problems in workforce planning and, in turn, to staffing shortages. They are calling for a ‘fundamental system reform’ to cope with the pressure to increase the supply of health professionals and reduce the cost of education to the taxpayer. CoDH chair Jessica Corner said the overhaul would eradicate the ‘boom and bust cycles’ of workforce planning.
‘The current system does not allow for long-term management of workforce supply because it is designed to cope with short-term financial pressures,’ she said. ‘We need a system that allows a degree of expansion in numbers.’ While the proposal is mainly an attempt to address workforce supply problems, the bodies say it would
‘WE NEED A SYSTEM THAT ALLOWS FOR EXPANSION IN WORKFORCE NUMBERS’ also ease financial pressures on students, who often take extra loans to supplement their bursaries. The proposal suggests offering either to repay part of the student loan or to pay a retention bonus. According to the CoDH and Universities UK, 63% of one London university’s 2012/13 hardship fund went to NHS-funded students. Nursing students in London can apply for a means-tested bursary of £3,191 for 2015/16 and a non-means tested bursary of £1,000, while in
Scotland they receive a non-means tested bursary of £6,578. Tuition fees are currently set at £8,980 per year for London and £8,315 for the rest of England. However, Unison head of nursing Gail Adams said the proposed model is too radical and would deter people from poorer backgrounds. ‘The loan would lead to a haemorrhaging of students and they will receive no more than they do under the bursary system. The loan would saddle them with years of debt.’ NHS Employers director of development and employment Sue Covill said exploring alternative funding options is a ‘step in the right direction’, but added that the quality and cost effectiveness of education, and students’ experiences, should also be considered. University of Glasgow third-year nursing student Grant Byrne said: ‘We need to make nursing more attractive and introducing the fees would do the opposite. Huge tuition fees and a loan could deter a lot of people from going into nursing.’
The RCN hosted a delegation of nurses from Ghana last week to share ideas and best practice on nursing leadership and influencing government policy. Members of the Ghana Registered Nurses’ Association met college officials in London. Hosted by RCN president Cecilia Anim, a native Ghanaian, the organisations discussed common challenges, including pay and staffing levels. Kwaku Asante-Krobea, the group’s president, said that in some health settings in Ghana there is just one nurse to 22 patients. ‘We are letting the government know we do not get good care for patients by magic with these ratios,’ he said.
BARNEY NEWMAN
Ghana delegation and the RCN swap notes on pay and staffing
From left to right: Alice Asare-Allotey, Kwame Adinkra Amo, Cecilia Anim, Dinah Adjoa Quagraine, Kwaku Asante-Krobea and Clara Nana Ghanem outside the RCN’s London headquarters
NURSING STANDARD july :: voluses 29 without no 45 ::permission. 2015 7 Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Dec 07, 2015. For personal use only. No8other Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
