To think if the NHS is so understaffed...

[Buzzthedragon]

They’d make retraining for NHS roles a more attractive option for mature students?
It’s expensive, it takes ages... the distance learning options are a minefield where people are ripped off left, right and centre...
It seems so difficult to access.
Aibu? Have I got this wrong?

No shortage of people wanting to be midwives or doctors. But you have to be on placement with currently employed staff and there aren’t enough staff to put students with so you can’t increase the student numbers.

Makes sense @Iwouldlikesomecake

It was very easy for me, I left nursing late in life and did a degree to become an allied health professional. As I already had nursing I was able to work weekends and nights as a nurse to pay the mortgage on a good salary and I worked throughout the holidays as well.
However, we did get our degree free and we got a bursary, this was 15 years ago.
Nothing is free now and I would have been extremely reluctant to do the degree now as a result.
Also we've had no students with us since covid started and have no plans to do so anytime soon. In a couple of years time we are going to be dead in the water as far as recruiting is concerned in all departments.
The government needs to make NHS courses - all of them free again and with a bursary otherwise the future looks pretty grim.

@Iwouldlikesomecake

No shortage of people wanting to be midwives or doctors. But you have to be on placement with currently employed staff and there aren’t enough staff to put students with so you can’t increase the student numbers.

While this is true, there could be more "rejigging" of university terms etc I think. I love having a student with me (midwife), but often don't have one. There are certainly times when all the students seem to be off at the same time and there could be more flexibility built in so they could choose to come in to placement and have a different week off placement instead - thus accommodating more students overall.

The NMC have also changed requirements (for midwives at least, not sure for nurses) whereby students used to have to spend a minimum percentage of their time with one mentor; this has now been scrapped and they can work with any midwife on any shift. The uni attached to our hospital has taken advantage of this and where our cohorts used to be around 65, they are now around 90. However, I do hear anecdotally that the drop-out rate has increased and I'm not sure what the solution to that would be. Possibly one way could be making it more attractive for maternity assistants (healthcare assistants) to train - we have some excellent MAs in our Trust who would love to become midwives but cannot quite make it work financially. They already understand the shifts, NHS culture, and a lot of the role of a midwife, so possibly would be less likely to drop out.

I fully agree with bringing back the bursaries and making the courses free again. I was in the last cohort with a bursary and course fees paid for and it did make things a lot easier.

Also the pay at the end of it is not always attractive especially if you are a mature student. I was earning more per hour in my p/t office admin job (which I had while I was training to be a midwife), than I do now on a day shift. I didn't need a degree for my old job. Effectively I have gone through the three years of the midwifery degree and come out with a pay cut. Only slightly, and I love my job so wouldn't change to get more money, but I could see why someone earning more may be unable to take the pay cut if they have other financial commitments.

The NHS is understaffed, but the government control the number of training places and jobs available. The govt are running the NHS into the ground and selling off areas to private contractors when it's deemed to be 'failing'. In the meantime they rely on using staff trained abroad, as that's no cost to our own government.

They introduced tuition fees for nurses (and probably midwives) a while back. Maybe fine if you are 18 and living at home, not so much if you are a mature student and need to find x thousands a year to train. (and it's an intensive course, most people could not physically work FT on top).

If I was in charge I'd pay students a NHS band 2 wage to study and I'd have the gov. cover fees. That would attract a lot more HCAs and other support workers to do their training with no drop in income. And since students do a lot of unpaid grunt work, at leas they would be being paid something for it. (I'd probably make it a condition that they have to work in the NHS for at least 5 years post qualification, though, to make it worth while.

Of course, my above post would be in an ideal world, not a practical one!

Cheesyblasters that makes a lot of sense actually! My friends are nurses & put me off training.