More than half of our midwives and nurses are being recruited from overseas and this is not sustainable. The ethics of such recruitment form LMIC must be questioned. We cannot salve our conscience by saying they benefit from working on the NHS and return home to improve care because many of these professionals rarely return home. Meanwhile many from the U.K. who enter nursing and midwifery are struggling to complete their education and when they do are straddled with debts post qualification. Many also leave while in training because they are unable to meet cost despite loans. The current cost of living crisis is exacerbating problems. Many adult learners especially are in this position because they have additional childcare/ family cost to meet. Yet the nursing and midwifery professions benefits from adult learners with life experiences necessary to relate to people who they care for. They are also more likely to stay in the profession post qualification 

Providing nursing and midwifery education for free with a monthly bursary to meet daily living costs will go a long way to promoting recruitment and retention not just amongst the student population but also post qualification. This needs to be urgently addressed as part of efforts to manage the current acute staffing crisis on the NHS