The number of new nursing students has fallen by up to 40 per cent in parts of England, threatening NHS rescue plans, analysis shows.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned that the number of people studying to be nurses has plummeted in all regions between 2020 and 2023.
He said large areas of the country are being left behind by a failing education system and called for better financial incentives for future students.
Data from university admissions service UCAS reveals that in the North East, the worst affected region, acceptances on pre-registration nursing courses have plummeted by 40 per cent.
The number of new nursing students has fallen by up to 40 per cent in parts of England (File Image)
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) warned that the number of people studying to be nurses has plummeted in all regions between 2020 and 2023 (File image)
The RCN is now calling on the Government to introduce a loan forgiveness model for students who commit to working in the UK after graduating and funding their living costs (File Image)
Yorkshire and Humberside and the south-west of England each saw falls of 25 per cent, while the drop in acceptances was 22 per cent in the east of England and 19 per cent in the south-east.
As registered nurses often work in the region where they study, RCN said they are concerned this could mean fewer doctors in the same local areas.
Areas that recorded a smaller fall include the West Midlands, with a 14 per cent decline, and London with a 12 per cent fall.
The analysis comes a week after Labor launched its ten-year plan to fix a “broken NHS”.
The RCN is now calling on the Government to introduce a loan forgiveness model for students who commit to working in the UK after graduating and funding their living costs.
Professor Nicola Ranger, general secretary, said: “The prospect of huge debt and lack of financial support is discouraging the nurses of the future, threatening to leave patients without the highly trained nursing professionals they desperately need.”
“Ministers are right to want to modernize the NHS and move care into the community, but this requires making nursing an attractive career once again.”
There are currently over 31,000 vacant nursing roles in NHS England.
The health service’s long-term staffing plan aims to increase the number of nurses from 350,000 to 550,000 by 2036/37.
A Department of Health spokesperson said: “Recruiting the necessary staff will take time, but we are committed to achieving the largest expansion of NHS staff in history with more midwives, nurses, doctors and allied health professionals.”