Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what research has been conducted into whether clinical teams, mentors and practice educators can support an additional 10,000 nursing and midwifery students while ensuring the quality of their practice placements.

The additional places will include placements in line with existing degrees, to do so there will be no change required to existing statutory regulation or education standards.Delivering suitable high quality placements as now, is part of the universities commitment on delivering an additional 10,000 student places.

Education standards will continue to be set United Kingdom-wide by the statutory Nursing and Midwifery Council and Health Care Professionals Council who as part of their approvals process assess the quality of practice placements. Professional bodies are also involved in setting curricula, particularly in the allied health professions and this will continue. It will be for universities to work as part of their local health economy with placement providers to secure extra placements for the additional students.