Student nurses are going to descend on Westminster. They are going to try and call for a £1 billion investment to try and get nurses the funding they need. The college believes that this is what’s needed to be done in order to try and halt the decline in student nursing members. They also want to try and begin to address the 42,000 nursing vacancies that happen to be jeopardising patient care in general. If you work as a nurse agency or if you go through a nursing recruitment agency then you will know how dire this situation can be.

Students are going to meet with MPs ahead of the Westminster debate and they are also going to try and discuss the future of nurse funding and education. The debate has been called by Eleanor Smith who has a background in nursing. She is also the MP for the South West area of Wolverhampton. Since the bursary for students was scrapped in the year 2016, various applications to study nursing have fallen by well over 33%. The government have stated that they want to try and drive up the numbers for student nursing but by the looks of things, they are not going to change any time soon. The RCN has produced some cost measures and this includes a maintenance grant that will cover all nursing students. It is also going to provide those who need it the most with the tuition and even the support they need on a day to day basis. This includes bringing back the grant in England and it also involves encouraging students to get a higher level of interest in nursing as well.

Dame Donna has written a message to the Secretary of State for health and social care. She has called on them to try and secure £1 billion of funding.