The Scottish Government must use ‘unspent’ nursing bursaries to invest in the recruitment and retention of nurses in the country, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has urged.
New analysis from RCN Scotland shows some 3,500 students were accepted onto undergraduate nursing courses at Scotland’s universities in 2024 – 800 less than the government had funded for.
In Scotland, eligible nursing students receive a bursary of £10,000 each year.
The union suggested this means the Scottish Government was saving around £8m a year and as much as £24m over the course of a three-year nursing degree.
It has therefore urged ministers to reinvest unspent bursary funding into ‘tackling the recruitment and retention crisis’ within nursing.
RCN Scotland director Colin Poolman said: ‘The Scottish Government cannot renew health and care services without investment to support and grow the largest NHS workforce.
‘Demand for services is rising, and Scotland needs thousands of new nurses to fill current vacancies in the NHS and social care.’
Mr Poolman said applications to nursing courses in the country were at a ‘six-year low’ and that ‘over the last three years thousands of nursing student places have gone unfilled’.
‘Ministers should be using the tens of millions saved in unspent nursing bursaries to invest in nursing and in tackling the recruitment and retention crisis facing the profession,’ he added.
The union wants to see funding given to deliver on the incoming recommendations of Scotland’s Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce – established in 2023 and led by the cabinet secretary for health and social care to address nursing workforce issues.
‘It’s more important than ever that the Scottish Government’s Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce delivers positive change,’ said Mr Poolman.
‘The Taskforce is due to publish its recommendations in the coming weeks, but this is just the first step. Delivering these vital improvements will require time and money.
‘These missing millions must be invested into nursing to achieve a sustainable nursing workforce for the future.
A good place to start is funding the delivery of the Taskforce’s recommendations.’
The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment.
