Student nurses and midwives who choose to carry out the final six months of their course as a clinical placement to help tackle coronavirus will be paid at Agenda for Change band 4, nursing leaders have said in a letter to students.
Meanwhile, second year student nurses and those in their first six months of final year will be paid at band 3 if they opt to undertake extended clinical placements during the Covid-19 outbreak.
In yesterday’s letter, chief nursing officer for England Ruth May and Health Education England chief nurse Mark Radford asked students ‘to step to support our NHS at this critical time’.
They continued: ‘We know this is a complex, uncertain and difficult time…We also know that the NHS’ greatest asset is its workforce, and that many of you want the opportunity to help.
‘As a future member of that workforce, we hope you will consider volunteering through placements to use your considerable skills to help save lives,’ they added.
From April 2020, band 4 salaries begin at £21,892 while band 3 salaries start at £19,737. Newly qualified staff nurses automatically come in at the bottom of band 5, at £24,907.
The NMC might also invite student nurses in their final six months to join a temporary Covid-19 register ‘as part of a transition move to a band 5 salary’, the letter said.
Student midwives will not be able to join the emergency register ‘because of the autonomous role of the midwife’, it added.
Second year students or those in the first six months of their final year have the option to undertake up to 80% of their hours on clinical placement.
Earlier this week, emergency legislation was passed to enable the Nursing and Midwifery Council to temporarily register groups, such as former nurses and midwives.
