The Royal College of Midwives has welcomed the announcement today (9th of October) that the Scottish Government will increase the nursing and midwifery students’ bursary  to £10,000

Mary Ross-Davie, Director for Scotland at the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), said:

“This is great news and a forward thinking and important announcement. It is crucial that we attract people into midwifery, from all walks of life, to ensure that we not only replace those midwives that will retire, but also that we attract the very best people into the profession. This will go a long, long way to ensuring that this happens.

“Let us not forget that in England student midwives and nurses do not get any bursary at all, which makes this increase for Scotland even more progressive. This also comes on the back of the best pay award for NHS midwives and nurses in the UK, another important step to ensuring we retain the midwives we have.

“This shows that the Scottish Government is listening to not only the Royal College of Midwives who have lobbied for this, but to other NHS professions as well. It also shows that this Government care about the NHS and it shows that they care about NHS staff and the people they care for.

“I would urge the Government in England to rethink their decision to take away bursaries in England.”

The increase sees those receiving £6,578, increasing to £8,100 in 2019/20, and further rising to £10,000 in 2020/21.

Care experienced students will move to £8,100 this financial year, an uplift of £1,522.

Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland said:

“Dedicated staff are crucial to our NHS and it is vital that we help support the nurses and midwives of the future during their training.

“We know the value of our NHS staff and we know the value of our Health Service. This extra funding will help make studying nursing or midwifery easier for those who want a career in our health service.”