The Sun: £98m bill for nurse drop-outs

By EMMA MORTON

THOUSANDS of student nurses are dropping out of training courses early – and it costs taxpayers £98million a year.

More than a quarter quit before they qualify but the Government still has to pay their tuition fees at universities and colleges.

Gill Robertson, student adviser at the Royal College of Nursing, said last night: “The money wasted is deplorable. Any attrition is a huge drain on resources.

“The effect on students and their families is also enormous.”

Almost 7,000 students out of 25,100 who started courses in 2006 quit, according to data gathered under the Freedom of Information Act and published in Nursing Standard magazine.

Ms Robertson urged colleges to put in “much more work and investment” to stop nurses dropping out.

She added: “If it is possible in some universities, it is possible in them all.” Matthew Elliott, of the Tax Payers Alliance, fumed: “This wastage is letting down taxpayers, patients and would-be nurses.

“It is a disgrace. Either they are recruiting unsuitable people or they are putting off keen candidates.

“Every penny of this money is urgently needed and shouldn’t be squandered like this.”

A Health Department spokesman said a new scheme which saw funding stop if a student dropped out would give colleges an incentive to tackle the problem.