LABOUR'S parliamentary candidate for Worcester Lynn Denham has called for the full restoration of the NHS nursing bursary, saying that the scheme is “vital for both our university and our health service in Worcester”.

The bursary, which had been available to all students studying nursery, midwifery and allied professions courses, was scrapped by the government in 2016. Mrs Denham said the scrapping of the NHS bursary in 2016 meant students were faced with £9,000 a year in tuition fees.

Lynn Denham said: “We must restore in full the NHS bursary scheme so that we can recruit the future nurses that we desperately to provide care within our National Health Service.

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"We will simply not be able to recruit the number of nurses that are needed without investment from the government to incentivise people to study nursing and to support them throughout their courses.

This is an issue which is particularly important to Worcester.

"Not only do Worcester people rely on nurses to provide them with the care that they need, but our university is also a centre for the study of nursing, with many students in Worcester losing out as a result of the bursary being removed.

"With the Tories cutting the support for those wanting to work in our NHS, it is no wonder that our hospital is struggling to provide patients with the care that they need.

"Labour will bring back the bursary in full, including free tuition fees for nursing, midwifery and allied health profession undergraduates. Only a Labour government will recruit the nurses that we need and properly invest in the future of our NHS.”

The Conservatives have plans to reintroduce a nurse bursary worth £5,000 to £8,000 per year, which was included in their manifesto published last week.