Student nurses and midwives who choose to carry out the final six months of their course as a clinical placement to help tackle coronavirus will be paid at Agenda for Change band 4, nursing leaders have said in a letter to students.
Meanwhile, second year student nurses and those in their first six months of final year will be paid at band 3 if they opt to undertake extended clinical placements during the Covid-19 outbreak.
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In yesterday’s letter, chief nursing officer for England Ruth May and Health Education England chief nurse Mark Radford asked students ‘to step to support our NHS at this critical time’.
They continued: ‘We know this is a complex, uncertain and difficult time…We also know that the NHS’ greatest asset is its workforce, and that many of you want the opportunity to help.
‘As a future member of that workforce, we hope you will consider volunteering through placements to use your considerable skills to help save lives,’ they added.
From April 2020, band 4 salaries begin at £21,892 while band 3 salaries start at £19,737. Newly qualified staff nurses automatically come in at the bottom of band 5, at £24,907.
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The NMC might also invite student nurses in their final six months to join a temporary Covid-19 register ‘as part of a transition move to a band 5 salary’, the letter said.
Student midwives will not be able to join the emergency register ‘because of the autonomous role of the midwife’, it added.
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Second year students or those in the first six months of their final year have the option to undertake up to 80% of their hours on clinical placement.
Earlier this week, emergency legislation was passed to enable the Nursing and Midwifery Council to temporarily register groups, such as former nurses and midwives.