Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
NHS crisis as nurse applications plummet
THE NHS faces a growing staffing crisis after applications to study nursing dropped sharply this year.
The number going for training places fell 12,610 this year – down to 53,010 from 65,620 last year.
It casts doubt on the ability to train enough to fill the 40,000 nurse vacancies across England, the Royal College of Nursing said.
It comes after the Government axed bursaries for trainee nurses and midwives, who will have to take out loans to cover living costs and £9,000-a-year fees.
RCN chief Janet Davies warned most would never be able to repay the loans as salaries stagnated under the austerity-led 1% public services pay rise cap.
She said: “Despite Government promises, the number of training places has not increased and student interest has fallen dramatically. The nursing shortage will get even worse unless Ministers support people into training and scrap the cap on pay to keep experienced staff.”
Theresa May faced new calls to scrap the 1% cap as experts said austerity is now a “choice”.
The deficit is lower by some measures than it was before the 2008 crash, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said – meaning austerity squeezes could end now.
The IFS said debt as a proportion of national income would still fall with deficits left at the current level in the coming years if the economy grows as expected.
IFS economist Carl Emmerson said: “We do have a choice.”