In the past, you have written about how trainee paramedics who have a previous degree are barred from student loans and the NHS bursary, unlike almost all other healthcare students. I am a mature student, looking to retrain as a paramedic. It’s a long-held ambition, and I have spent the last two years completing an A-level in biology to meet the entry requirements. I find myself disqualified from the £5,000-a-year NHS Learning Support Fund because applicants must be in receipt of a student loan to be eligible. I receive a maintenance loan due to low income, but do not qualify for a tuition fee loan because I received one for my first degree nine years ago. I have since repaid it, so I owe nothing.
If I was training to be a nurse, doctor, dentist or another allied health professional, I would be able to get funding. This rationale values patients who can get themselves to hospital for treatment more than those who rely on an ambulance. Because I don’t qualify for the bursary, I’m unable to reclaim travel costs to and from hospital placements. Given the rising costs of travel, and the wide geographical span of placements I could be assigned to, it could end up costing me up to £100 per week. With paramedics in such short supply, the NHS is cutting its nose off to spite its face.
