A total 3,530 students have been accepted onto undergraduate nursing courses at Scotland’s universities in 2024. This is significantly fewer students than the number of places originally identified by, and funded by, the Scottish government to ensure the future nursing workforce; a shortfall of over 800. Intake targets are set each year, but this year the target was significantly reduced by the Scottish Government mid-year as universities expressed concerns about meeting the original targets and the risk of financial penalty. This new “soft” target has been exceeded by 45 students.
Acceptances in 2024 are 6% reduced compared to pre-covid levels in 2019.
Over the last three years over 2,400 fewer nursing students have started university than planned. This trend means the gap between the number of registered nurses that are needed, and the number entering the workforce, is set to widen even further.
Meanwhile the figures also show a significant fall in the total number of applicants to undergraduate nursing courses, with applicants at the lowest level for six years. Compared to last year there has been a drop of 500 people applying to nursing courses and over 1,000 fewer people applied this year compared to 2019.
Commenting, Eileen McKenna, Associate Director for Nursing, Policy and Professional Practice, RCN Scotland, said:
“Nursing remains a fantastic career but these figures suggest getting that message across to potential applicants is getting harder and harder every year.
“Acceptances onto nursing courses have stagnated, with numbers being accepted still below pre-covid levels. This is an extremely worrying trend. Scotland does not have the number of nurses that are needed to meet the demand for care in health and social care services right now. And as a result of the failure to fill places over the past three years, we will have less nurses than needed graduating in the years ahead, at a time when demand is increasing.
“This is a desperate situation and it is more important than ever that the Ministerial Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce proposes the right actions to directly address these challenges. The Scottish government must back its commitment to the Taskforce, and its forthcoming review of nursing student finance, with the financial resources needed to deliver change and ensure nursing is positioned as a career of choice.”
