Student nurses and midwives yesterday took out a march in protest against government plans to axe the NHS student bursary.  
The plans, announced during George Osborne’s spending review in November, will see bursaries for nursing students and other healthcare undergraduate professions replaced with loans.
The march started at midday from St Thomas’s hospital at Westminster Bridge and finished at Downing Street, where a rally took place with a series of guest speakers.
Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) joined the march.
Outside Downing Street, the RCN chief executive and general secretary, Janet Davies, said: “RCN students have today shown just how worried they are about this move and its potential effects. Student nurses and midwives are the profession’s future and their voices and concerns must, and should, be listened to.
“Over our 100-year history, the RCN has a long track record in the education of nurses and the government should listen to our knowledge and expertise as it consults on these ill thought out plans. The future of nursing must be protected. Our patients deserve nothing less.”
The RCM’s head of education and learning, Carmel Lloyd, said: “These government plans are appalling and will undoubtedly deter many committed and talented people from considering a career in midwifery. The RCM is extremely disappointed that the government did not seek advice or consult with us prior to making this decision.
“This is a change that has huge implications for both our student midwife members and an already understaffed maternity service. Currently, we have a diverse body of students who come from all walks of life. Many are mature, not school leavers, who already have substantial caring and financial commitments. They will be particularly hit hard.”
Since Osborne made his announcement, more than 150,000 people have signed an online petition calling on the government to retain the NHS bursary. Parliament will debate the petition tomorrow.
The shadow health minister, Heidi Alexander, was among those who addressed the students at the rally. She was roundly cheered as she told them the Labour party was on their side, before reading out a message of support from Jeremy Corbyn.
Relaying a message the party leader sent her earlier yesterday, she said: “I admire our brilliant NHS staff and their work. We must keep nursing bursaries for the next generation so that nurses can qualify, help all of us and not be lost to the profession. Support for our NHS and the brilliant work that all the staff do will always be there from the Labour party.”
She added: “I think the government is taking a huge gamble with the future of the NHS and you need to know that the Labour party will fight them every step of the way. First it was the junior doctors and now it is the student nurses. We will oppose them and we will not let them put the future of the NHS at risk.”
Marching under the “bursary or bust” campaign, the student nurses and midwives also proposed that all NHS students join junior doctors for a half-day walkout on February 10.
Junior doctors are planning a 24-hour walk-out on Tuesday, a 48-hour strike on January 26 and another walkout on February 10 over contract changes planned by the government.
Currently student nurses and midwives receive an annual bursary from the NHS while they study - which they do not have to pay back. They also do not have to pay tuition fees.
However, the government argues that because the NHS can spend only a finite amount of money on bursaries each year, it limits the number of places available for students.
“We need more home-grown nurses in the NHS because they do an amazing job caring for patients, but currently two-thirds of people who apply to become a nurse aren’t accepted for training,” a spokesman for the Department of Health said.