A recent report released by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), details that there is a slight rise in applications or nurse training compared to 2018.
While this increase is an encouraging trend, there is a significant decrease in applications compared to 2016, when the state stopped offering a bursary used to cover all training costs.
Three years ago, the number of applicants to achieve this professional qualification were more than fifty thousand (51,830). In comparison, the number of applicants during the latest admission round were down by almost thirty percent (30%) to about thirty-seven thousand (36,810).
Nurse training crisis
Ever since the British government decided to deprive aspiring nurses of the opportunity to take a bursary for their education, the number of applications has been in decline.
Another cause for concern about higher education was recently revealed as it turns out the credibility of universities across the UK is dropping.
This situation has become a reason for serious concern among the Ministry of Health, as the fewer students enter nursing courses, the fewer nurses are going to come to the health system.
The NHS has recently reported that there are about forty thousand open positions for nurses, which cannot be filled. This puts additional pressure on experienced professionals, as the shortage in employees means they have to work longer hours. Because of the harsh work environment, many of the already employed nurses are also thinking of quitting.
Thus, ever since the axing of the bursary, a crisis has started forming, and the future of hospitals is under threat, as trained employees in the sector are rapidly decreasing in numbers.
