'Hammer blow for NHS reforms’, as student nursing applications fall again

The number of people applying to study nursing is at a record low, UCAS figures show.

There’s 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 UK government must launch an urgent, fully funded student recruitment campaign to address the crisis before September’s student intake.

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.

We believe addressing the debt burden, alongside increasing nursing pay, are important steps to make the career more accessible.

RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger said: “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.

“The government needs to urgently grip this workforce crisis. Ministers must launch an urgent, fully funded student recruitment campaign this spring to turn this situation around before September’s intake.

“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.

"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.”