Over 60 MPs have signed an Early Day Motion (EDM) to call on the Government to drop its plans to remove the student nurse bursary.
The EDM was set up by Wes Streeting, MP for Ilford North, and has been backed by a number of other MPs. This includes former nurse and Conservative MP for Lewes Maria Caulfield.
An Early Day Motion is where MPs call for a debate on an issue but they very rarely reach the debate stage. Instead their main purpose is to draw attention to a particular subject.
Mr Streeting told Independent Nurse, that removing the bursary is 'a shocking way to treat the backbone of the NHS. Unlike so many groups of graduates who go onto high earning professions and make a financial contribution to their student debt as a result I don’t think that nurses and midwives are particularly well paid compared with other graduates.'
Mr Streeting also stated the removing the student nurse bursary would impact greatly on the primary care nursing workforce, due to the shortage of nurses in this particular area.
A petition created by nursing student Kat Webb, resulted in a debate on 11 January and a consultation over the student nurse bursary is due to be begin some time over the next month.
Unions such as Unison have pledged to support student nurses through holding summits to discuss action plans.
Student nurses across the country have also protested and completed a one-hour walkout on 10 February.