SCOTLAND'S largest nursing body has attacked "unsustainable" cuts to student numbers after the Scottish Government announced this year's intake of trainee nurses and midwives would be cut by 10%, taking it to its lowest level in 15 years.
Overall student intake for 2012/13 will be 2430 compared to 2700 last year, according to figures confirmed yesterday. The Government said the reduction in intake was in line with workforce projections, with this year's cohort of new students not due to graduate until 2015.
But the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland said the drop in numbers would jeopardise patient care in the future, with a 12% cut in student numbers for the 2011/12 intake already under way.
The latest cuts will mean that the 2012/13 intake is the lowest since 1998/9 when there were 2505 places.
RCN Scotland director Theresa Fyffe, urging the Government to reconsider, said: "Year-on-year cuts like this are not sustainable."
The Scottish Government said the cuts mirrored trends in other western European countries and reflected a shift away from hospital treatment to more care in the community.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "The intake sets a balance between ensuring the right number of nurses and midwives for the future while also minimising the risk of oversupply."
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