Student nurses ‘in poverty’ and turning to food banks
Student nurses in Scotland are using food banks and barely scraping by, due to a lack of pay on placements and restrictions on paid part-time work, Nursing Times has been told.
Aimèe Hall, a first-year adult nurse at Glasgow Caledonian University, has started a campaign to improve financial support for those studying nursing degrees.
“For us to help others, we have to sacrifice ourselves”
Aimèe Hall
She highlighted that students were living in poverty, often turning to food banks – or had got themselves in debt to support themselves or their families.
People studying nursing degrees in Scotland are given a £10,000 non-means tested bursary for the year, in addition to having their tuition fees covered.
This £10,000 is supposed to cover everything from housing to food, and while there is some extra funding for parents and those with disabilities, students are limited in when they can work part-time jobs, and do not get paid for the placements themselves.
The current system, Ms Hall said, was unsustainable for students: “If you look at the cost of living, £10,000 is nowhere near enough for survival.
“We’re told by the university and Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) that we should not work, as it can have a toll on patient care and our own mental health.
“I have to pay for transport; I don’t drive. To get to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, where I am on placement, I have to get a bus and the train.”
Aimèe Hall
Ms Hall explained that reimbursement for transport was available, but limited and slow.
“I’ve made sacrifices,” Ms Hall continued. “All bills like Netflix, Disney+, etc have been cancelled – obviously those aren’t a big deal, but it’s something I would do in my free time.
“I don’t pay for a TV licence, I don’t go out with my friends, all my money goes on food and bills.
“I’ve had to go to a food bank because I couldn’t afford it that month. That happened twice to me, but friends go more than once a month for the basics, cheap items most people take for granted, but for us are hard to afford.”
Student nurses who need extra money often opt to work nursing bank shifts, normally taking on support worker posts, because they can make this work around their studies.
However, Ms Hall said the banks in her local area were oversubscribed.
Students at Ms Hall’s university are not alone. A Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland report published last year surveyed more than 1,000 students, 99% of whom said money was a worry.
The RCN’s survey suggested that two-thirds (66%) of students considered dropping out of their course because of finances, and that 45% were working 16-25 hours per week alongside their full-time studies.
Ms Hall recently began a petition calling for a change to the rules. Ms Hall said being paid like apprentices would be one solution, and that she and other students had written to members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) asking for help.
She added: “It feels like we are stuck in a situation where for us to help others, we have to sacrifice ourselves.
“This should not be the case for student nurses.
“This is not something which can be fixed with resilience. Lack of financial stability is not something we can adapt to or learn from.
“If the UK wants to keep student nurses, and clearly the NHS clearly needs us to stay afloat, we need to be treated like we’re needed.”
