Part of 2. 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport – in the Senedd at 2:40 pm on 17 May 2017.
I welcome the support provided for the NHS bursary, provided not just for nurses, but a range of other allied health professionals, to help them through their training. We recognise, given that the average age of a nurse in training is in their late 20s, that they’re likely to have ties to a local area and they’re likely to have responsibilities. Taking away the financial support, as has been done by the United Kingdom Government across our border for those people training in England, has a serious and significant effect. We’ve seen a significant drop—24 per cent—in the people applying for nurse training across the border as a direct result. We made a choice, based on the evidence, to support people undertaking healthcare courses, including nurses, and it was very well received when I attended the Royal College of Nursing congress in Liverpool on Sunday and Monday. This Government will provide not just the direction of travel that we’ve been very clear about recently, but a fuller and more comprehensive long-term approach to supporting people undertaking healthcare education, when we announce our full and final response to the Diamond review in due course.