Given the current rate of youth unemployment in Northern Ireland is over a fifth (21.4%) of Northern Ireland’s working age population; increased by 155% since 2008.  Stop the Cuts Campaign are appalled that the Assembly Executive intends to carryout savage cuts in student bursaries for Nursing and Midwifery courses enrolling in September 2012. According to the DHSSPS.NI consultation document bursaries will be cut initially by £1000 from the student’s entitlement leaving them with a pittance to live on. This will force students to try and balance their training with whatever job they can find if any to survive.

But the proposals go far deeper that just nursing students.  If the Assembly Executive and Health Board have its way, they have stated that this is only “Step 1” as they will carry out similar cuts in all healthcare bursaries.  This will see attacks on medical, Radiology, Occupational Therapy, physiotherapy, Dietetic, Social Work and Speech and Language students.  These brutal cuts in essential bursaries will impact up to 3500 potential students per year.  The DHSSPS.NI also states that they will review the bursaries again with a view to making further cuts and all bursaries means tested.  This is the stepping stone to cutting bursaries completely and forcing all students to pay for all fees on health courses; having a devastating impact on students from low income families, particularly as welfare benefits are already being cut.

These students will be the Doctors, Nurses and Allied Healthcare Professionals that will be looking after us and our family members in hospitals and community. At a time when we see our health service in meltdown due to staff cuts; do we really want to risk the destructive impact that will occur to their training and the care they will provide to the most vulnerable in our society.    For the political parties in the Assembly, this does not appear to matter.

The SCC are completely opposed to all cuts in education and demand that the Assembly Executive stop this attack on healthcare bursaries and re-invest in more student healthcare places  to replenish the staff the NHS has lost. The SCC supports and offers any practical help to building a genuine campaign established in opposition to cuts in student healthcare bursaries.