Firstly, we would like to mention that we are appreciative of the continuous hard work and bravery that is put in by our beloved NHS teams throughout this pandemic. 

As student nurses at London South Bank University, we are facing many unpredictable challenges and a great deal of uncertainty during the Covid 19 pandemic. Cohort 18/19 Adult Nursing Students have been committed to working independently from home in order to further our studies and progress into our final year. When accepting our places as students at London South Bank University we were not advised on what is expected of us if a pandemic was to occur, as this is not stated within our contract. However, we understand that these things cannot be foreseen or predicted and we understand that there is not one person to blame for the inconvenience.

As this pandemic has evolved, there are numerous members of our second year students that feel we have not been taken into consideration when the options to opt in or out of our placement hours were created. As it stands currently, we either opt in to working in the hospital and finish our course on time, or opt out and potentially have all our hard-work we have put into second year, deferred until Sept 2021. 

For a lot of us, we are more than student nurses, we are mothers, carers, considered vulnerable due to ill health, suffering with mental illness (which has heightened due to the uncertainty) and much more. 

Several members of our cohort feel they are being forced to opt in to work for the NHS in order for us to continue our course and progress to our final year 2021 and we have been told that by opting out, there is a strong chance that not only will we graduate a year later 2022, but the NHS will have to wait another year before we can join the workforce as registered nurses. 

Numerous members of our cohort have been allocated to a host Trust with a lengthy travel times that are not close to home and with the shortage of public transport and advisories not to travel, not only are we putting ourselves at risk but we are putting others at risk. In addition to this, an ordinary shift at the hospital is approximately 12 hours and students are expected to commit to 37.5hours a week, this is particularly difficult whilst schools have been forced to close and the lack of childcare has been a concern for many students due to school clubs and childminders being unable to support the parents of our cohort at these times. Students have been offered a paid employment incentive to encourage us to opt in however at what cost? Would we be sacrificing ourselves for a degree we have not yet achieved? 

Aside from this, the mental health throughout our cohort is growing rapidly, we are concerned for many of our peers as the stresses continue to heighten with worries of our deadlines, health concerns, personal concerns, not being allowed to continue into our third year, not receiving support and so much more. 

We are not asking that these hours are scrapped, however we are requesting that like many other nursing courses at other universities, that these hours are deferred to final year, either as 1 placement or split amongst the 3 scheduled placements arranged. Our students biggest concern is this pandemic setting us back due to incomplete hours even after we have been working relentlessly for weeks to ensure all our academic work is completed and submitted as expected of us. 

It has been announced about potential simulation practices we could take part in however, nothing further has been mentioned, we have just been informed that we cannot progress into third year with outstanding hours, creating more concern and worry for members of our cohort. 

We are in support and have admiration for our fellow students whom have chosen to opt in and are able to commit to doing so, however for the minority of us whom are unable to opt in due to personal circumstances, whether that be mentally, pre-existing health concerns or our family lives, we should not be penalised for not being able to do so. 

Please help us in spreading the word, and giving us hope in completing our course in a timely manner with our entire cohort as a team.