Students can claim £420 per 1,000 miles travelled for placement compared with £280 previously.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced it will boost the amount student healthcare professionals can claim in expenses.
According to the DHSC, eligible students on nursing, midwifery, allied health professions, medical and dental courses will be able to claim 50% more for travel and accommodation expenses.
In real terms, it means students can claim £420 per 1,000 miles travelled for placement compared with £280 previously.
Commercial accommodation, such as a hotel or bed and breakfast, will rise from the current £55 to up to £82.50 per night. Expenses for staying with a friend or relative will rise from £25 to £37.50 per night.
Announcing the changes, Minister of State for Health, Will Quince, said: “We have therefore listened to students’ concerns and are taking action to ensure they are appropriately reimbursed for any additional costs of travelling for clinical placements, as well as boosting means-tested and childcare support for medical students.”
The financial support available via the NHS Learning Support Fund remains unchanged.
More radical changes are needed.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has welcomed the news but has warned rising student debts and low pay will still deter those looking at joining the profession.
RCN Deputy Director for Nursing, Dr Nichola Ashby, said: “We have been campaigning on this and it is an important step in improving nursing students’ ability to afford to fulfil their placements, but more radical changes are needed to address the shortage of nursing students.
“There is a worrying bigger picture – nursing students accepted onto degree courses this month are down 13%.
Dr Ashby continued, “The government must remove the burden of student debt and tuition fees from prospective nurses, and better pay those in the profession. These changes must be made if the NHS Workforce Plan is to deliver the nursing staff needed for the NHS and social care.
“Far more work needs to be done to make nursing attractive to the next generation. The nurses of tomorrow are still being put off by the prospect of eye-watering student debt, low pay, and intolerable working conditions.”
