- Conference
- 2024 National Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 7 December 2023
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes the steady recruitment of healthcare students and those in education and training pathways to become healthcare professionals, and believes that continuing to recruit healthcare students to UNISON is an essential part of a strategy for a strong UNISON presence in the NHS.
Conference recognises the continuing pressures on healthcare students as they balance clinical placements and academic study, often with additional family and caring commitments.
Conference notes the success of the UNISON Future Healthcare Leaders programme for healthcare students in identifying and developing the next generation of leaders in healthcare, and welcomes the continuation of this and similar initiatives.
The ‘Student Advocate’ role and associated training has now been rolled out across two pilot regions. This project offers a role for healthcare students wishing to be more engaged in UNISON in a way which gives healthcare students a voice and point of contact but which can be successfully balanced with the responsibilities and time constraints of their studies.
Conference further notes the 2023 UNISON survey of healthcare students, on the cost of living crisis and the viability of financial support. This survey identified a number of pressures on healthcare students, and findings were in line with other surveys and research by UNISON and the TUC.
Among other findings, the survey showed that:
• almost 90% of students in their second year or later said their financial situation had worsened in the previous 12 months;
• over a third of students (35%) agreed or strongly agreed that they might not be able to afford to complete their programme of study;
• over three quarters agreed or strongly agreed that “financial worries are having a negative impact on my mental health”.
The survey further found that around half of all our healthcare student members had childcare responsibilities, and of this cohort:
• less than a quarter received government support for childcare costs;
• over 50% agreed or strongly agreed that they struggled to afford childcare;
• over a third (39.5%) agreed or strongly agreed that “the challenges of childcare are making me actively consider dropping off of my course”.
These concerns about the cost of living and childcare are in line with the findings of UNISON’s Equality Survey 2023 which found that childcare costs are a major concern for a majority of UNISON members with childcare responsibilities, and contribute strongly to the pressures of the cost of living crisis.
Conference believes that continued strategic recruitment of healthcare students, across all pathways of training, apprenticeship and study, is important for the sustainability of UNISON’s membership in the health sector and the NHS in particular.
Conference further believes that UNISON is strongly placed to identify the financial and other pressures facing healthcare students and to campaign on these.
Conference asks the UNISON Health Service Group Executive to:
1. Explore membership density and patterns of recruitment of healthcare students, identifying challenges and opportunities for regions wishing to grow their recruitment;
2. Engage with regional Health Committees, the Strategic Organising Unit, the National Young Members Forum and other relevant sections of the union to build and develop strategies for recruitment and organisation of healthcare students across every region;
3. Campaign for better financial arrangements for healthcare students, such as non-repayable living bursaries or NHS salaries, taking into account UNISON’s devolution protocol where different arrangements exist across the devolved nations;
4. Campaign for student financial support arrangements to be uplifted in line with the cost of living;
5. Work with UNISON’s National Women’s Committee to explore the additional financial challenges facing healthcare students with childcare responsibilities, and call for sustainable solutions;
6. Consider producing further information for healthcare students on the range of existing financial support available;
7. Support and promote the further rollout of the Student Advocate role and associated training programmes across more UNISON regions;
8. Continue with the Future Health Leaders development programme for healthcare students and promote the 2024 programme accordingly.