Heidi Alexander MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, responding to an independent economic analysis of the Government’s plans to scrap NHS bursaries, said:

“This independent analysis shows just how badly thought through the Tory Government’s plans are. The truth is that scrapping NHS bursaries will be bad for staff, bad for patients and bad for the NHS.

“At a time when we need to be training more nurses, it simply doesn’t make sense to be cutting support for students. Not only will this risk exacerbating staff shortages, but as the analysis shows, any potential savings will be all but wiped out by the increased costs associated with hiring more agency staff, or recruiting from overseas.

“This is a political decision. For the sake of saving some money in the short-term, this Government is prepared to saddle nurses with a lifetime of debt. Labour is calling on the Government to drop these dangerous plans and think again.”