GOVERNMENT funding for thousands more apprentice nurses falls short of the wider investment needed to plug shortages in the sector, the Royal College of Nurses (RCN) said today.

The warning came after the Department of Health & Social Care announced a £172 million package to allow healthcare employers to take on 2,000 more apprentices every year for the next four years. 

The department said this will help to deliver its target of 50,000 new nurses by 2024-25 with employers receiving £8,300 per applicant each year. 

But the nurses’ union argued that the plans do not go far enough to guarantee the sector will have the staff it needs. 

RCN director for England Mike Adams said: “This increase in places is a welcome step and we hope it will make a career in nursing more accessible for those fortunate enough to secure a place.

“It does, however, fall short of the wider investment needed to educate enough registered nurses for the future, ensuring health and care services have the staff needed.”

Apprenticeships are an alternative to full-time university nursing courses, allowing people to have jobs while their tuition fees are paid. 

But Mr Adams pointed out that full-time nursing degrees remain the fastest way to train people in the profession. Abolishing tuition fees for nursing students and introducing maintenance grants would truly open up the profession to all, he said. 

There are now 40,000 nurse shortages in the health and social-care sector. 

A recent survey by the RCN of 41,000 members found that 36 per cent were thinking of leaving the profession: up from 27 per cent at the end of 2019. The major factor behind nurses wanting to leave was low pay, followed by the way they had been treated during the Covid-19 pandemic.