The number of people applying to study nursing is at a record low, UCAS figures show.
There has been a 35% fall in the number of people applying to study nursing in England, with only 23,730 applications this year, compared with 36,410 in 2021.
The RCN has called the news a ‘hammer blow’ to the prospects of reforming the NHS and have called for the Government to commit to urgent action.
'These figures are devastating for the nursing profession and a hammer blow for the government’s planned NHS reforms. Health services are battling with thousands of unfilled nurse jobs, and the horizon looks bleak – the numbers choosing nursing in England have plunged to a record low,’ said RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger.
The RCN has called for launch an urgent, fully funded student recruitment campaign to address the crisis before September’s student intake.
According to the organisation, to deliver NHS reforms, the UK government must make nursing a more attractive degree and career by introducing a loan-forgiveness model for students who commit to working in the NHS and wider public services, alongside universal, uplifted maintenance grants.
‘Today’s broken model of education funding impoverishes students and saddles them with debt, and it is turning people away from the nursing profession. Low starting salaries make a bad situation worse. This further student decline is dangerous for patient care,’ added Professor Ranger.
‘The government must take the opportunities this year to introduce a loan forgiveness model for those who commit to working in the NHS and public services, alongside universal, uplifted maintenance grants for nursing students.’