New nursing apprenticeships confirmed for students from deprived communities

Thousands of new nursing apprenticeships have been created in ‘areas that need it the most’, the government has confirmed.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has confirmed that 2,000 new nursing apprenticeships will be delivered through partnerships between NHS trusts, higher education institutions and local training providers with deprived communities prioritised.

Opportunities will be targeted to areas where nursing shortages have the biggest impact on local healthcare services, the DHSC said. The specific locations have not yet been made public.

There will also be a further 2,000 young people from deprived areas supported when applying to medical courses, including giving young people access to summer schools or placements within the NHS.

The government has also pledged to increase the number of students receiving free school meals into medical school by 50% in the next decade.

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Duncan Burton, chief nursing officer for England, said: ‘Apprenticeships open up nursing careers to people with the skills, commitment, and compassion to care for patients, who may not have otherwise come forward for a career in the NHS.

‘Investing in apprenticeships in this way will help us build the skilled nursing workforce the NHS needs, while supporting social mobility.’

The health secretary, Wes Streeting, added: ‘Talent is everywhere in our country, but opportunity isn’t.

‘I don’t want the NHS denied the talents and potential of the doctors, nurses and staff of the future, simply because they are never given a chance.

‘Having grown up in poverty on a council estate, getting into Cambridge University changed my life.

‘With the most working-class cabinet in history, this government is determined to change the odds for young people today.

‘We’re determined to break the class ceiling in the NHS so that our professions are elite, not elitist.

‘My message to the best and brightest young kids who want to a future caring for their country in the National Health Service is – go for it.’

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The chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Nicola Ranger welcomed the news but said she would like to see ‘more ambition’ from the government including a focus on financial support for student nurses.

She said: ‘The announcement can help further widen access to nursing, which is a wonderful career and shouldn’t be out of reach for anyone.

‘However, the biggest barrier to those from poorer backgrounds isn’t necessarily a lack of apprenticeships but a broken tuition fee model.

‘We now need more funding for the additional costs of training an apprentice, including for rota cover while they attend the university part of their training, so employers can keep up financially.

‘If ministers want to transform care and meet growing patient demand, then the upcoming ten-year workforce plan must focus on establishing a robust and sustainable domestic pipeline of new nurses.’

Students will be able to apply to courses from spring next year, working with NHS England and partners like the Sutton Trust, Social Mobility Foundation and Medical Schools Council.

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The government also aims to expand or reallocate medical school places so that areas with poorer health outcomes or ageing populations train more doctors locally.

Meanwhile, a ‘unique’ nursing degree to help nursing associates qualify within 16 months has recently been approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

The nursing regulator has approved the University of Exeter’s (UoE) ‘earn while you learn’ programme that will allow nursing associates to qualify as nurses in just 16 months using a mixture of workplace-based and online learning.