Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Health Education England plans to cease funding in July 2020 for final year student nurses that have not completed their 12 week placements and 2300 hours of clinical practice required to graduate as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

To aid the National Health Service’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Health Education England (HEE) working with stakeholders introduced paid-placements for selected nursing, midwifery, allied health profession and healthcare science students.

NHS employers with students on paid-placement should consider 31 July as an appropriate end date where a student has completed their required placement hours or has completed their educational programme. Students still requiring hours to complete their education beyond the end of July and into August will continue to be funded to do so.

HEE is working locally with each Higher Education Institutions to ensure placements are available and is supporting these students so that as many as possible can graduate on time.