Coronavirus UK: Thousands of student nurses to be axed

Thousands of student nurses recruited to work on the front line against Covid-19 have been told their placements will be cut short, plunging some of them into financial despair.

Nurses took to Facebook and Twitter to express outrage at a decision from NHS England that their paid placements will now finish at the end of July instead of running until the end of September.

One nurse calling herself Becky Jane said nurses had been told by Health Education England – which oversees training – that the NHS could no longer afford to keep the paid placements going until the end of September as originally promised.

She wrote on Facebook: ‘Some of us left jobs for this. Many of us have children and families to care for.’

But Health Education England’s chief nurse Mark Radford denied it was cutting student nurses’ pay, saying final-year students would be paid until July 31 and could then get paid jobs as registered nurses.  

If they have hours still to complete in their placement, they will be paid until September, he said, adding that those those in Year 2 would be paid until the end of July.

Lead organiser for Nurses United UK Anthony Johnson, said the ‘disgusting’ decision was typical of the way student nurses are treated throughout their studies.

The 27-year-old said: ‘Student nurses are not all young, they have families and mortgages to support. And if there is a second peak, we’re going to be asking them to get involved again.’ 

Becky Jane said nurses could graduate with around £30,000 debt already and had signed up for the six-month placements at the start of April despite being ‘terrified’ of contracting Covid-19.

Student nurses were on the front line treating patients suffering from Covid-19, pictured

She added: ‘Please do not clap for your NHS. Please in future consider voting to fund it properly.’

Another nurse, Sarah Flynn, wrote on Facebook: ‘We saved your life Boris or have you forgotten?’

In mid-April, NHS England reported that nearly 15,000 student nurses, midwives and medical students had joined ‘frontline NHS teams as part of the nationwide coronavirus fightback’.

Sir Simon Stevens, NHS chief executive, praised them at the time, saying they were ‘stepping up to serve in the fight against coronavirus’. 

The final year student nurses were sent to work in Covid-19 wards before completing their training. In response, they were offered a special contract which was due to continue until they qualify at the end of September

According to the website NursingNotes, one university told its student nurses: ‘We have now had final confirmation that the 31st of July 2020 will be the end date for all students on paid placements in all placement areas.’

Former health secretary and Tory MP Jeremy Hunt tweeted: ‘This would be very concerning if true but I cannot believe govt would let down this brilliant and brave group of people.’

Professor Radford said in a statement: ‘To be clear, it is absolutely untrue to suggest that student nurses and midwives are being made redundant; all student nurses and midwives are required to complete placements during their training. 

‘These placements are normally unpaid but to recognise the special circumstances and as part of the response to Covid-19 these hours have been paid and will be until the end of summer. NHS England has been provided with the funding for student salaries as part of the response to Covid.

‘Year 3 students will be paid till 31st of July and, if they have completed hours and assessments, can qualify and be paid as a full registered nurses. They will move from Band 4 to Band 5 and therefore increase their pay. Any Year 3 student who has hours to complete will be paid until September to allow them to do this.

‘Any Year 2 students on placement till July 31st will be paid and after this normal non-paid placements will be reintroduced along with Year 1 students. We committed at the outset of the pandemic to ensure that these students complete their training and are able to qualify.

‘It was always made clear to students who opted in to paid placements the arrangements would need to come to an end at an appropriate point so that students could return to their supernumerary status to complete their registered nursing qualifications as quickly as possible to permanently enter the NHS workforce.’ 

Mike Adams, director for England at the Royal College of Nursing, said: ‘We urge Health Education England and the NHS in England to offer some clarity for students about the way forward. The vital work student nurses have been doing throughout the pandemic has demonstrated the huge contribution nursing undergraduates make to our health and care services. 

HEE was unable to immediately confirm whether students were told at the start of their placements that pay would mostly only continue until the end of July.  

Shadow health minister Justin Madders said: ‘Student nurses up and down the country have cut their studies short, and in some cases left other jobs, to go and work on the front line as part of the national effort to combat coronavirus.

‘Their personal commitment should be recognised and reciprocated by the Government. They do not deserve to be cast aside like this and ministers must explain exactly what is happening.’

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told MPs in the Commons that the funding would be in place ‘until the end of summer’ but gave no specific date He said: ‘It is wrong to suggest that student nurses and midwives are being made redundant.’