One in two GP practices do not offer placements for student nurses

Almost 50% of GP practices in the UK do not accept student nurses on placement, new results from a survey of the primary care workforce have revealed.

When asked if their practice offered placements for students, 47% of respondents said that they do not, and had no plans to in the next 12 months.

A further 10% said that they did not offer placements, but intended to within the next 12 months, while 32% said they did currently accept students.

The data comes from almost 2,000 primary care staff – including practice nurses, GPs and practice managers – who responded to the State of Primary Care survey, conducted by Nursing in Practice publishers Cogora.

The report also revealed that a third of practices would consider employing a nursing associate, but had no intention of doing so within the next 12 months.

Just 12% said they would be taking on a nursing associate at some point over the next year, while 21% ruled it out altogether.

It also asked practice nurses about their contract situation, with just over a quarter of respondents claiming their surgery followed Agenda for Change pay bands.