STUDENT nurses are suffering from “severe exhaustion” while working significant additional hours on top of their full-time study and placements, the Royal College of Nursing’s (RCN) annual conference heard today.

Many are choosing between buying food and traveling to clinical placements as existing support falls short of the cost-of-living in Wales, delegates in Liverpool were told.

RCN Wales executive director Nicola Williams said: “While we welcome the existing non-means-tested bursary, it simply does not go far enough in the current financial climate.

“We are hearing directly from students who cannot afford to get to placements, who are working exhausting hours alongside full-time study, and who are struggling to meet even their most basic needs.

“Some are being penalised by means testing that does not reflect their real circumstances, leaving them without the support they need.

“Students are telling us they feel unable to look after themselves, are experiencing housing insecurity and in some cases are considering leaving their course altogether.”

She warned that allowing financial pressures to drive future nurses out of the profession before they even qualify “would be a devastating loss for patients and services across Wales.”

Current funding arrangements “do not reflect the actual financial pressures on students, particularly those undertaking long and demanding NHS placements,” she added.

The Welsh government said: “We greatly value the nursing workforce in Wales and the vital work they do. We will maintain the NHS Wales Bursary and implement a long-term plan to support our NHS workforce.

“The First Minister has now appointed his Cabinet which he has said will have a relentless focus on doing what’s best for Wales. Each minister will be setting out their priorities shortly.”