As we start September, many excited students will start or return to their nursing degrees this month, as the summer holidays come to an end. I know that for nursing students, combining your studies with placements can be challenging, not least because of the related costs.
This week we have welcomed an announcement of support for nursing students in England, who will soon be able to access upfront payments for placement travel and accommodation costs.
This follows years of campaigning by the RCN and students on the financial barriers facing those entering the profession – it’s not right that students are often forced to use their own money to meet placement costs and then have to wait to receive that money back. But under this new arrangement, nursing students will be able to receive an upfront “float” of £200 for travel and £400 for accommodation costs associated with clinical placements. This mirrors the system for placement expenses in Scotland but in Northern Ireland and Wales students still need to pay the money upfront and claim them back.
Thee changes in England will provide some welcome financial relief to those studying to join our brilliant profession, but ministers in Westminster shouldn't stop there. Because nursing students will still have to cope with inadequate financial support, a tuition fee system leaving them in eye-watering debt and, perhaps most worryingly, with some graduates unable to secure a job at all.
I keep being told by NHS England that there are more jobs than last year – but the reality is that nursing is the first to be cut when funding is tight. And we see the consequences of this in the difficulties many nursing graduates face in finding a permanent nursing role when they complete their studies. That’s why last week the RCN UK Students Committee wrote to NHS England and the Chief Nursing Officer for England Duncan Burton calling for improvements to nursing recruitment practices.
The Committee says nursing graduates have been left “stacking shelves” amid a shortage of NHS roles and have been blocked from at least a third of entry-level nursing jobs in England last month. That’s a situation that simply cannot continue.
It’s insulting to current students and recent graduates, who are desperately needed at a time of record patient demand, and risks damaging the perception of nursing by putting off the next generation from considering the career.
Nursing students are the future of the health and care workforce. I strongly believe no nursing graduate should complete their degree without a clear route into employment when demand is rising and nursing vacancies remain unfilled across health and care. Please sign our Committee’s open letter to demand action.
Alongside the Students Committee letter, the RCN also set out a series of policy proposals we want to see urgently implemented to ensure this year's nursing graduates can access employment. These include prioritising new graduates for bank shifts, and then guaranteeing those graduates a substantive nursing role. For those graduates who wish to move to access a job, we’re demanding centralised relocation funding.
And as we move into political party conference season I will be telling the Westminster government exactly where their priorities should lie for nursing, including prioritising the next generation of our nursing staff.
In Scotland, we have called on politicians to see nursing as part of the solution to the challenges facing the health and care system and to invest in community nursing, ahead of the Programme for Government. It’s time for nursing to be recognised as an investment, rather than a cost because too often, staffing decisions are based not on need but on affordability. But this is a false economy. You can read our full Programme for Government briefing here.
Many of you may have seen RCN members and staff in NHS workplaces across England encouraging all nursing staff to Know Your Worth. We will be holding events across England so look out for RCN staff in your local area. In whatever area or specialism you work in, reviewing your role is a huge step to nursing staff being paid and valued for the work you do.
We’re also committed to making sure you’re fairly paid in General Practice too. We know that while there are some GP practices that mirror NHS Agenda for Change pay scales, unfortunately the majority of employers do not offer the same terms and conditions. This leaves many nursing staff working with poorer terms than their counterparts elsewhere in the system, including less access to sick pay, maternity pay, and little time off for training. Now is the time to reset the discussion on general practice nurse pay. In England, the Westminster government promised a pay uplift for general practice staff and we want to find out how employers have been implementing this. If you work in general practice across England, please tell us about your pay.
Yesterday, the UK Government announcement that visa rules will now untie recognised victims of modern slavery from their specific employer. We've been calling on the government to take action on exploitation in social care, including in the RCN report I shared with you in my blog last month, exposing the scale of exploitation taking place in the social care sector across the UK.
Modern slavery is a shocking crime and it’s right that the government is starting to take action. But the reality is these changes alone will leave most of the exploitation unaddressed. The government needs to be far bolder and untie all migrant health and care worker visas from employers, not just those who meet the category for modern slavery. Raising care standards means raising employment standards, but you can do neither while so many unscrupulous employers are able to hold so much power over dedicated migrant nursing staff.
As you will know, the RCN is dedicated to advancing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion across our membership and the wider nursing profession. As part of our ambition to strengthen our knowledge, we’ve expanded our systems to collect a broader range of member information to help us understand the diversity within our membership and identify areas where we can support you better. So, please log into myRCN to review and update your membership information so we can represent you and the profession more effectively. By sharing your details, you help us ensure our services, support, and advocacy are inclusive and equitable for everyone.
And finally, I’m looking forward to this year’s RCN Annual General Meeting, which will take place on Tuesday 8 September at RCN HQ in London and online. It’s an opportunity to hear and update on preparations for our next organisational strategy and to share your perspectives on the priorities that matter most to nursing staff and the profession. Information about how to join in person or online can be found here.
This week we have welcomed an announcement of support for nursing students in England, who will soon be able to access upfront payments for placement travel and accommodation costs.
This follows years of campaigning by the RCN and students on the financial barriers facing those entering the profession – it’s not right that students are often forced to use their own money to meet placement costs and then have to wait to receive that money back. But under this new arrangement, nursing students will be able to receive an upfront “float” of £200 for travel and £400 for accommodation costs associated with clinical placements. This mirrors the system for placement expenses in Scotland but in Northern Ireland and Wales students still need to pay the money upfront and claim them back.
Thee changes in England will provide some welcome financial relief to those studying to join our brilliant profession, but ministers in Westminster shouldn't stop there. Because nursing students will still have to cope with inadequate financial support, a tuition fee system leaving them in eye-watering debt and, perhaps most worryingly, with some graduates unable to secure a job at all.
I keep being told by NHS England that there are more jobs than last year – but the reality is that nursing is the first to be cut when funding is tight. And we see the consequences of this in the difficulties many nursing graduates face in finding a permanent nursing role when they complete their studies. That’s why last week the RCN UK Students Committee wrote to NHS England and the Chief Nursing Officer for England Duncan Burton calling for improvements to nursing recruitment practices.
The Committee says nursing graduates have been left “stacking shelves” amid a shortage of NHS roles and have been blocked from at least a third of entry-level nursing jobs in England last month. That’s a situation that simply cannot continue.
It’s insulting to current students and recent graduates, who are desperately needed at a time of record patient demand, and risks damaging the perception of nursing by putting off the next generation from considering the career.
Nursing students are the future of the health and care workforce. I strongly believe no nursing graduate should complete their degree without a clear route into employment when demand is rising and nursing vacancies remain unfilled across health and care. Please sign our Committee’s open letter to demand action.
Alongside the Students Committee letter, the RCN also set out a series of policy proposals we want to see urgently implemented to ensure this year's nursing graduates can access employment. These include prioritising new graduates for bank shifts, and then guaranteeing those graduates a substantive nursing role. For those graduates who wish to move to access a job, we’re demanding centralised relocation funding.
And as we move into political party conference season I will be telling the Westminster government exactly where their priorities should lie for nursing, including prioritising the next generation of our nursing staff.
In Scotland, we have called on politicians to see nursing as part of the solution to the challenges facing the health and care system and to invest in community nursing, ahead of the Programme for Government. It’s time for nursing to be recognised as an investment, rather than a cost because too often, staffing decisions are based not on need but on affordability. But this is a false economy. You can read our full Programme for Government briefing here.
Many of you may have seen RCN members and staff in NHS workplaces across England encouraging all nursing staff to Know Your Worth. We will be holding events across England so look out for RCN staff in your local area. In whatever area or specialism you work in, reviewing your role is a huge step to nursing staff being paid and valued for the work you do.
We’re also committed to making sure you’re fairly paid in General Practice too. We know that while there are some GP practices that mirror NHS Agenda for Change pay scales, unfortunately the majority of employers do not offer the same terms and conditions. This leaves many nursing staff working with poorer terms than their counterparts elsewhere in the system, including less access to sick pay, maternity pay, and little time off for training. Now is the time to reset the discussion on general practice nurse pay. In England, the Westminster government promised a pay uplift for general practice staff and we want to find out how employers have been implementing this. If you work in general practice across England, please tell us about your pay.
Yesterday, the UK Government announcement that visa rules will now untie recognised victims of modern slavery from their specific employer. We've been calling on the government to take action on exploitation in social care, including in the RCN report I shared with you in my blog last month, exposing the scale of exploitation taking place in the social care sector across the UK.
Modern slavery is a shocking crime and it’s right that the government is starting to take action. But the reality is these changes alone will leave most of the exploitation unaddressed. The government needs to be far bolder and untie all migrant health and care worker visas from employers, not just those who meet the category for modern slavery. Raising care standards means raising employment standards, but you can do neither while so many unscrupulous employers are able to hold so much power over dedicated migrant nursing staff.
As you will know, the RCN is dedicated to advancing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion across our membership and the wider nursing profession. As part of our ambition to strengthen our knowledge, we’ve expanded our systems to collect a broader range of member information to help us understand the diversity within our membership and identify areas where we can support you better. So, please log into myRCN to review and update your membership information so we can represent you and the profession more effectively. By sharing your details, you help us ensure our services, support, and advocacy are inclusive and equitable for everyone.
And finally, I’m looking forward to this year’s RCN Annual General Meeting, which will take place on Tuesday 8 September at RCN HQ in London and online. It’s an opportunity to hear and update on preparations for our next organisational strategy and to share your perspectives on the priorities that matter most to nursing staff and the profession. Information about how to join in person or online can be found here.
Share on Facebook
Share on LinkedIn
