Senior medical students have said they have to drop out because they don’t have enough money to live on.
Students campaign for better NHS grants.
In their final year, student doctors are given a reduced loan and an NHS bursary – capping at a maximum of £6,458 a year for someone outside of London.
Students have said this is not enough to survive, especially for those on low incomes.
The campaign for a #LiveableNHSBursary was backed by the British Medical Association – which called the funding “a government failure”.
Khadija Meghrawi, co-chair of the BMA’s medical student committee, said: “This is particularly unbearable now that the whole country is suffering from a terrible cost of living crisis.”
Penny Sucharitkul, a student doctor at Leeds University, said her annual funding had fallen from more than £10,000 to £5,375.
She said the money doesn’t even cover her rent – which was recently raised by her landlord.
The 22-year-old comes from a single parent family who was dependent on universal credit after her father lost his job as a factory worker during the pandemic.
In addition to her full-time studies, she works as a martial arts instructor and clinical research assistant.
She believes working-class students are being treated unfairly.
“We don’t really have time for extra jobs, but we’re making it because we don’t have a choice,” she said.
“We get up at 6 a.m., spend the whole day working out and then go back to work – and it’s incredibly taxing on our mental health.
“We burn people out before they even start in the NHS.”
Michaela Vernon, from Nantwich, Cheshire, comes from a low income background and is concerned she cannot afford to complete her studies.
“During the cost-of-living crisis, funding hasn’t increased and that makes things very expensive,” she said.
“I’ve worked so hard. I’m doing well in my course and it’s not fair that I might not be able to work as a doctor.
“We need to make sure medical students can graduate without suffering crippling debt or burnout.”
The Department of Health and Social Care said recognized funding is higher in the early years of a medical degree – and urged students to apply for hardship grants where available.
“We are committed to supporting medical students in England throughout their academic years and are keeping funding arrangements for all healthcare students under review,” it said.
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