First Minister confirms bursary will rise to £10,000 by 2020.
Nursing and midwifery students’ bursary will rise to £10,000, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced yesterday.
All eligible students, who currently receive £6,578, will benefit from an interim increase to £8,100 in 2019/20, rising to £10,000 in 2020/21. This rise of £3,422 a year will help cover accommodation and living expenses during their studies.
In addition, care experienced students will move to £8,100 this financial year, an uplift of £1,522.
The First Minister said: “Dedicated staff are crucial to our NHS and it is vital that we help support the nurses and midwives of the future during their training. That’s why I am announcing a three stage plan to increase the support we provide.
“This year, we will increase the bursary for care experienced student nurses and midwives to £8,100.
“Next year, the payment for all student nurses and midwives – care experienced or not – will rise to £8,100 a year.
“And, from the year after, every student nurse and midwife will get a bursary of £10,000 a year.
“We know the value of our NHS staff and we know the value of our Health Service. This extra funding will help make studying nursing or midwifery easier for those who want a career in our health service.”
The Nursing and Midwifery Student Bursary (NMSB) provides financial support to eligible (Scottish domiciled) student nurses and midwives studying in Scotland. The core NMSB, which is non-means tested and non-repayable, has been set at £6,578 per year since 2009/10.
In 2016 the Scottish Government an additional discretionary fund of at least £1 million to provide a ‘safety net’ for nursing and midwifery students in most need, and in 2017/18 invested an extra £3 million per year to increase financial support for nursing and midwifery students with children or dependants.
The anouncement has been welcomed by nurses leaders.
Mary Ross-Davie, Director for Scotland at the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), said: “This is great news and a forward thinking and important announcement.
“It is crucial that we attract people into midwifery, from all walks of life, to ensure that we not only replace those midwives that will retire, but also that we attract the very best people into the profession. This will go a long, long way to ensuring that this happens.
“Let us not forget that in England student midwives and nurses do not get any bursary at all, which makes this increase for Scotland even more progressive. This also comes on the back of the best pay award for NHS midwives and nurses in the UK, another important step to ensuring we retain the midwives we have.
“This shows that the Scottish Government is listening to not only the Royal College of Midwives who have lobbied for this, but to other NHS professions as well. It also shows that this Government care about the NHS and it shows that they care about NHS staff and the people they care for.
“I would urge the Government in England to rethink their decision to take away bursaries in England.”
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