Brock Access to HE coordinator welcomes return of grants for healthcare degree students

Students studying at university to enter registered healthcare professions will receive a £5,000 annual support payment from September 2020, the Department of Health has announced.

Nursing, Physiotherapy, Podiatry, Midwifery, Occupational Therapy and Paramedic Science are among the subject choices that give rise to eligibility.

And the news could in turn provide a boost to Access to HE recruitment numbers, as prospective learners take heart from the improved financial security associated with their next steps.

Charlie Broomfield, Brockenhurst College’s Access to HE Coordinator, said: “This is particularly welcome news for our adult Access to HE students, many of whom will go on from Brock to study Nursing, Midwifery or Allied Health courses such as Paramedicine or Physiotherapy.

“These learners juggle their studies with career and family commitments, and the additional financial assistance will be invaluable to them.

“We hope this news will encourage more adult learners to return to study so they can progress to university.”

In addition to the £5,000, students could receive £1,000 in extra funding to cover childcare expenses, and/or an extra £1,000 if they are studying in a region that is struggling to recruit, and/or an extra £1,000 if they choose to study a ‘shortage specialism’.

Minister for Public Health Jo Churchill said: “From paramedics to physiotherapists, radiographers to speech and language therapists, our talented allied health professionals are the third largest workforce in the NHS and support people to live better lives.

“As demand grows, we need more of the best and brightest to join our NHS. I want those who would relish the job of saving people’s lives as a paramedic or diagnosing cancer as a radiographer to come forward to train, taking advantage of this fantastic new £5,000 support package.”

The government, which has pledged to boost nurse numbers by 50,000 by 2025, said it expected the maintenance grant to fund up to 100,000 students each year.

You can find out more about the new maintenance grant system for healthcare students by clicking here