NHS chief suggests expanding nursing degree courses

Sir Simon Stevens has said that nursing degree courses should be expanded to capitalise on the surge in interest in NHS careers prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking on International Nurses Day, the NHS England chief executive thanked nurses for all they have done during the greatest global health emergency in NHS history and called on universities to increase the number of places and give people interested in nursing more opportunities to sign up.

The NHS England has made 8,000 more clinical placements available for nurses, up around a third to 30,000, funded by an additional £10 million, meaning there are expected to be up to 4,000 more placements available than degree courses this autumn. Currently, universities only let people sign up once or twice a year, in January and September. But a Spring recruitment drive could boost numbers.

Stevens said: “On International Nurses Day the whole country will want to come together to thank nurses who are working so hard to save and rebuild lives in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. The biggest global health emergency in a century has put a huge spotlight on the crucial role of nurses not just in the NHS but also in social care.

“We have seen three generations of nurses pitching in to help, not just our current fantastic staff but also retired nurses coming back and student nurses beginning their careers early. And looking out across the years ahead we know we are going to need many more nurses. So this is an opportunity not just to thank our current nurses but also to invite bright and brilliant and committed people across the country to consider nursing as a career.”

NHS England reports that the NHS Health Careers website has seen a 220 per cent increase in people expressing an interest in becoming a nurse.