Alex Lawrence, of Eye, launches petition to pay students on NHS placements

The father of a student nurse training at a Suffolk hospital has launched a petition calling for university tuition fees to be abolished for those on healthcare courses.

Alex Lawrence, 64, of Eye, is also calling for students on NHS placements to be paid.

The engineering store manager, who works in Stowmarket, said he feels proud of his daughter Tabatha, 20, who regularly works 12-hour shifts, unpaid, because she is studying.

Disillusioned with the state of the health service Mr Lawrence, who describes his daughter’s work as a ‘hard gig’, has not only started the petition to support her.

He wants to help others on similar university courses which he said will leave them in thousands of pounds of debt, at the end of their studies.

If he achieves the goals of his petition he believes it will encourage more people to train, and then work, in the NHS.

Alex said: “People cannot afford uni fees and they can’t afford to work unpaid.”

He said this is leaving those who might want to study on healthcare courses alienated as they can’t afford to fund the course they want to take.

Alex highlighted some NHS trusts where student nurses have to pay to park.

Since it was launched two weeks ago, the petition has more than 980 signatures.

Tabatha said when her Dad told her about the petition it made her realise the frustration he felt on her behalf and for her fellow students.

She said: “I had never given it much thought from a parent or family member's point of view but it must be challenging seeing your loved one coming home exhausted after working a 12-and-a-half-hour shift with not even a little bit of pay.

“The thought of potential change really excites me.

“I feel it’s needed now more than ever as I fear that the amount of student nurses will continue to decrease due to financial barriers.”

A Government spokeswoman said: “Nurses play a critical role in providing high-quality, compassionate and safe care, as well as helping to restore our world-class NHS system, as part of our plan for change.

“Eligible nurses receive a non-repayable grant of at least £5,000 per academic year from the NHS through the Learning Support Fund, in addition to maintenance and tuition fee loans provided by the Student Loans Company.”

The spokeswoman said additional funding of £1,000 per academic year is also available for studying certain courses and £2,000 per academic year is available to students for childcare costs.

There is a commitment from the Government to publish a refreshed long-term workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade and treat patients on time again.

If the petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will respond to it.

At 100,000 signatures the petition will be considered for debate in Parliament.

You can sign the petition here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/716001 or via the QR code that Alex has created.

The petition will close on September 24.

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