"Number of UK nursing students plummets despite NHS shortages
Low wages and student debt worries are believed to have undermined applications, putting workforce plan in doubt""The UK government’s once-in-a-generation plan to expand the NHS workforce has “stumbled at the first hurdle” following a sharp drop in acceptances to study nursing at university this year, the Royal College of Nursing has claimed.
Finalised data from university application service UCAS showed a 12 per cent drop in acceptances for nursing in the UK compared with 2022, leaving the government far adrift of its targets for boosting nurse recruitment to address shortages in the NHS.
Under the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan for England, nursing training places need to increase 65 to 80 per cent above last year’s levels to meet 2031 targets."
FT.com
Who could have seen that coming?
Hancock tells NHS workers: ‘1% rise is all the country can afford’
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said a proposed 1% pay rise for NHS staff was being put forward on the basis of “affordability” as he faced threats of a nurses strike.
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