The number of new nursing students has fallen by up to 40 per cent in one part of England, putting NHS bailout plans at risk, analysis shows.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) warned that the number of people studying to become nurses has collapsed in every region between 2020 and 2023.
It said large parts of the country are being left behind by a failing education system and called for better financial incentives for prospective students.
The number of new nursing students has fallen by up to 40 percent in one part of England (Stock Image)
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) warned that the number of people studying to become nurses has collapsed in every region between 2020 and 2023 (image)
The RCN is now urging the government to introduce a loan forgiveness model for students who commit to working in Britain after graduating and to finance living costs (Stock Image )
Data from university admissions service UCAS showed that in the North East – the worst-hit region – acceptance of pre-registration nursing courses has fallen by 40 per cent.
Yorkshire and Humberside and the South West of England saw falls of 25 per cent each, while the decline in acceptances was 22 per cent in the East of England and 19 per cent in the South East.
Because registered nurses typically work in the region where they study, the RCN said they are concerned this could lead to fewer doctors in the same local areas.
Areas where the decline was smaller include the West Midlands, with a fall of 14 per cent, and London with a fall of 12 per cent.
The analysis comes a week after Labor launched its 10-year plan to fix a ‘broken NHS’.
The RCN is now urging the government to introduce a loan forgiveness model for students who commit to working in Britain after graduating and to finance living costs.
General secretary Professor Nicola Ranger said: ‘The prospect of massive debt and a lack of financial support is putting off the nurses of the future and risks leaving patients without the highly skilled nurses they so desperately need.
‘Ministers are right to want to modernize the NHS and move care into the community, but to do that you need to make nursing an attractive career again.’
There are currently more than 31,000 unfilled nursing posts in the English NHS.
The health service’s long-term workforce plan aims to grow the number of nurses from 350,000 to 550,000 by 2036/37.
A Department of Health spokesperson said: ‘Raising the necessary staff will take time, but we are committed to delivering the largest expansion of the NHS workforce in history, with more midwives, nurses, doctors and paramedics .’