STUDENT NURSES' BURSARIES

That this House is aware of the looming crisis facing the NHS and its ability to deliver safe and high quality care, in particular the current dangerous shortage of nurses and other clinicians; is alarmed by Government plans to replace the current NHS bursary with the student loans scheme equivalent which will place even greater strain on the system; urges the Government to realise the situation student nurses find themselves in with longer academic years than other students, many spending half their time on unpaid clinical placements in hospitals and the community leaving little opportunity for them to mitigate their economic circumstances; and calls on those in the nation's leadership to listen to the overwhelming views of the Royal College of Nursing and 20 other healthcare trade unions, charities and professional colleges to halt its plans for these changes in the interests of the service and nation.