“Students should not have to choose between passing finals or eating dinner each night”

Medics plead for increased funding as they struggle to make ends meet

Medical students are struggling to cope financially after “inadequate funding” fails to cover the basic necessities they need to live.

Eilidh Garrett, 25, is in the fourth year of her medicine degree and launched the #LiveableNHSBursary campaign on Twitter after being “sick with worry” about not being able to afford to make ends meet.

She said: “Not having enough funding is taking a big toll on my mental health, I genuinely believe that financial stress is a different type of stress.

“As I’m working alongside the degree, I’ve 100% sacrificed my grades and therefore I have less opportunities. I feel very burnt out a lot of the time and ultimately, I would be a better doctor if I had adequate funding.

“With the increased cost of living crisis, we’ve got a pinch point where this genuinely could be the difference between doctors graduating or not.

“Students should not have to choose between passing finals or eating dinner each night.”

In the first four years of their degree, medics are given a full tuition and maintenance loan from Student Finance England to live off, but in the fifth and sixth year, this funding is halved at the “most critical, intensive and stressful two years of the course”.

In the penultimate years of their training, funding is replaced by a combination of a means tested NHS bursary and a reduced loan from Student Finance England, totalling a maximum of £6,458 to live off annually.

With students being on placement for up to 40 weeks of the year, many of them are forced to work in part-time jobs on top of their full-time education as this allowance is simply not enough to live off.

With the potential to graduate with over £100,000 of debt, medics are urging the government to do more to increase this bursary and ensure medicine continues to be an inclusive and accessible course.

The campaign aims to grant medical students access to the NHS Learning Support Fund, which is available to other healthcare professional students, and access to full maintenance loans.

They are also asking for a review of the Travel and Dual Accommodation Expenses, which have not been increased despite the cost of living crisis taking a huge toll on people all across the UK.

If these demands are met, medical students would be able to access an additional £5,000 non-means tested grant to help cover the cost of their final two years at university.

Other medical students are using the hashtag on Twitter to highlight their financial struggles and encourage people to contact their MPs to increase funding.

Alexander Bald, 24, from Yorkshire, is in the final year of his medicine degree and has to work 10-30 hours per week, on top of placement, to cover the cost of living.

He said: “I feel like I have reached the ceiling of my potential as I can’t access the same opportunities as my more affluent peers.

“The drop between my fourth and fifth year of university was massive, with a nearly £3,000 difference and the expectation being that your parents are able to fund the gaps. This put a huge financial stress and burden on both myself and my parents.

“I wasn’t aware of the drop in funding before I applied, nor how dramatic it was.

“Students are struggling to survive under the current model. This is not okay.

“We should have the same opportunity to reach our potential as anyone else, finances shouldn’t be a barrier to this.”

The British Medical Association (BMA), who represent and support medical students, has said it is backing the campaign.

Khadija Meghrawi, co-chair of the BMA medical students committee, said: "It is deeply worrying that students are facing financial hardship because the support they are given during their degree is not enough to pay for their basic needs.

“This is a failure from the Government to provide enough funding.

“For years, we’ve heard instances of our fellow students using food banks, overburdened by debt and exhausted by working long hours alongside studying for a medicine degree full-time. No student should have to choose between completing their degree and making ends meet.”

The funding provided by the NHS bursary is “unacceptably low” and Khadija said there needs to be a review of current funding mechanisms.

The Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) released a press statement in support of the campaign titled ‘Medical Training Should Not Mean Poverty’.

Anna Sigston, DAUK medical student lead, said: “The government have rallied and succeeded in opening up medical schools to those from less fortunate backgrounds, which is brilliant.

“But what they fail to mention is that by fifth year, your income will be significantly reduced as you lose your maintenance loan from Student Finance England.

“Come to medical school but be prepared to financially sort it out yourself. In a world where we promote equality, why are students from financially vulnerable backgrounds still not given the same opportunities as their peers?”

A spokesperson from the Department of Health and Social Care said: "We are committed to supporting medical students in England across all years of study and we are keeping funding arrangements for all healthcare students under review."

They also stressed that NHS bursaries do not need to be repaid and that students should apply for hardship grants where available.

The #LiveableNHSBursary campaign has, so far, resulted in over 2,000 people writing to their local MPs, asking for their support.

Among those, Kate Osamor, Labour & Co-op MP for Edmonton, has said the campaign has her full support and she will continue to call for vital changes both in and out of Parliament to increase funding for medical students.

If you would like to support the campaign, the link can be found here.