GOVERNMENT 'MUST DO MORE TO END TRAINEE NURSE FINANCIAL HARDSHIP'
The comments come as nurses in Northern Ireland take strike action
The Government has failed to go far enough with its bursaries for nurses and must reinstate free tuition, nursing leaders have said.
Dame Donna Kinnair, chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, welcomed the return of bursaries but said the Government must also foot the bill for tuition if it wants to meet its targets for recruitment.
Her comments were echoed by the National Union of Students, which said it was unfair for trainee nurses to pay tuition when they support the NHS.
Dame Donna said: "To meet ambitious pledges on new nurses, ministers must be just as ambitious with the detailed policies.
"The return of maintenance payments is a welcome first step but to attract the kind of numbers the Prime Minister has talked about, student nurses need to have their reasonable living and tuition costs met - at least to the pre-2017 level.
Published: by Radio NewsHub