Financial support given to nursing students will not be extended to other health-related courses, the Education Minister has confirmed – despite a review into the extra costs of studying subjects such as paramedic science, pharmacy, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy.
The review found that extra course costs were not solely due to clinical placements, but also to variations in course length, term duration, and differing requirements.
Education Minister Rob Ward said that a “flat-rate” grant would therefore not fairly reflect the wide range of expenses faced by students on different programmes.
“For some students, support may be insufficient; for others, it may exceed costs and not represent good use of public funds,” he explained.
He was responding to a recent written question from Deputy Inna Gardiner, who asked whether certain health-related subjects – such as paramedic science, pharmacy, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy – could get the same kind of financial support that nursing students receive in the form of a clinical component grant.
Deputy Ward confirmed that no immediate changes to eligibility for the clinical component grant were planned, but added that the student finance system had been updated to collect more detailed data on course structure, duration, and practical placements to help inform future policy decisions.
Nicki Heath, from the Student Loan Support Group Jersey, criticised the decision, saying the government had known for years that students in “subjects allied to medicine” face similar financial pressures to nursing students but remained excluded from extra support.
“The costs can vary depending on how close the placements may be to where they study,” she said.
“But also the hours of the placement and access to travel if it involves shifts can be problematic – and, in some areas, young female students in particular might not feel safe.”
She added that students who need to use their own cars face extra insurance and ferry costs, while others must pay for temporary accommodation during placements.
“Some placements might provide accommodation or offer a swap system, but others don’t,” she noted.
Ms Heath said the UK already offered bursaries and travel support for NHS-related courses, and questioned why Jersey could not follow that model.
“Why should some students here receive a grant for placements and others don’t?” she asked, adding that the issue also affects social work and teaching students.
She suggested that rather than “wasting time rewriting the rule book”, the government should consider adopting the UK system.
But she warned progress could be slow: “If changes aren’t made before purdah, it will be for whoever is the new minister to look at again – delaying any introduction for another couple of years.”
Ms Heath emphasised that affected students were often training in “key skill shortage areas” and deserved fair treatment to ensure Jersey can grow and retain its own healthcare workforce.
Deputy Ward said that the government was working to tackle shortages in healthcare and related fields by working with training and recruitment teams to align funding with real needs, explaining existing financial support options, sharing information about skills gaps to guide policy, promoting careers and apprenticeships in health-related jobs, and expanding Jersey Bursary rules so part-time students could get support.