Learning Disability: Nurses

(asked on 21st May 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to attract more people into a career in learning disabilities nursing.


Answered by
Steve Barclay Portrait
Steve Barclay
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
This question was answered on 24th May 2018

The Department, working closely with Health Education England (HEE), NHS England, NHS Improvement and Skills for Care, is planning marketing campaigns to increase recruitment across the health and care system.

The campaigns will set out the values and opportunities presented by a career in the National Health Service.

The Department is also working with HEE and the university sector to ensure students continue to apply for nursing courses, including learning disability nursing courses, up to the end of clearing in September 2018.

Further to the announcement of 9 May, the Government is considering the most effective way to implement the ‘golden hello’ incentive scheme for postgraduate nursing students.

The current intention is that these payment incentives will be made available for future postgraduates who completed courses funded by loans in the 2018/19 academic year. The golden hello payments are anticipated to be contingent on these graduates working in specific fields of the health and care sector including mental health, learning disability and community, including district, nursing.

The detail of the scheme is being developed by the Department. Officials will engage with stakeholders as part of finalising proposals; including determining whether it is in the best interests of the NHS to split out the numbers eligible for a payment determined by branch of nursing. The conclusions of this will inform assessments of the potential impact of such incentives.

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