**Welsh Student Nurse Mum Highlights Reality of Food Poverty Amid Soaring Living Costs**
A student nurse and single mother from Mountain Ash has shared her harrowing experience of food poverty, describing how she often endures 12-hour hospital shifts with nothing but water, forced to skip meals in order to make ends meet. Lauren Healan, 28, is currently in her third year of nursing studies at the University of South Wales. Juggling parenthood and intensive training, Lauren insists her plight is not unique but reflective of a worrying trend among student nurses across Wales.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Wales has warned that student nurses like Lauren increasingly face the stark choice between sustenance and basic necessities including keeping their uniforms clean, paying rent, and covering travel expenses required for their clinical placements. Lauren has on occasion relied on foodbanks in Mountain Ash when her finances ran dry, admitting that these visits, though necessary, were demoralising. “There have been times I’ve gone hungry just to buy detergent to clean my uniform,” she revealed, underscoring the hidden costs many students shoulder during their nursing education.
Despite her unwavering commitment to her course and the profession, Lauren finds it difficult not to question her future. Drawing a monthly NHS Wales bursary of £600 as a single parent, she notes this sum falls short of covering even her rent. To fill the gap, she takes out an annual student maintenance loan of £11,000 – yet she still finds herself exceeding her credit card limit and borrowing from loved ones to make ends meet.
The misalignment between the financial support on offer and the soaring cost of living is having a direct impact not only on Lauren’s daily life but also on the sustainability of the future healthcare workforce. As she detailed, “I always make sure my six-year-old son has enough to eat, but that often means I don’t.” Lauren admits that while she and her fellow students advise patients to eat a balanced diet and get five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, she cannot afford to follow this guidance herself. Instead, processed and frozen foods form much of her regular diet, simply because they are more affordable and last longer.
There have even been instances where she has had to pick at her son’s leftover sandwiches, highlighting the level of deprivation some student nurses now face. The pressure mounts as student maintenance payments, which may initially offer some breathing space, quickly run out well before the term’s end.
Lauren’s voice was echoed at the RCN’s annual congress in Liverpool, where student nurses from across the UK gathered to discuss what the college has described as “significant financial hardship” during their pre-registration education. Many are squeezed by the demands of unpaid placement hours, which can exceed 2,300 over the course of their qualification, alongside the usual rigours of academic study.
Nico Williams, RCN student ambassador, highlighted that these financial pressures often result in students having to work alongside their degree and clinical placements, a combination that leaves little time for study, rest, or family life. This relentless schedule, he said, leads to burnout, lower academic performance, or even dropping out of nursing courses altogether—a concerning trend, given the chronic staffing shortages across Welsh healthcare.
Rachel Hadland, Acting Associate Director of Nursing for Professional Practice at RCN Wales, has called for an urgent review of student funding. She observed, “The amount of support on offer hasn’t kept pace with cost increases, and we’re simply not attracting and retaining new nursing students.” The sentiment was echoed by Helen Whyley, executive director of RCN Wales, warning that the expense of training as a nurse is putting the career “out of reach” for many, even as the NHS grapples with significant numbers of nurse vacancies.
Responding to these concerns, the Welsh Government has announced plans to launch a public consultation on the NHS Wales Bursary Scheme, admitting the current system may need review amid escalating living costs. A spokesperson noted: “Despite budget pressures, we’ve extended NHS bursaries for this academic year and removed barriers to ensure eligible students can access the full range of financial support.” They added that the forthcoming consultation would further address the needs of healthcare students navigating the cost of living crisis.
Lauren’s story underscores a growing sentiment among students and professionals alike: without urgent reform to student nurse funding and support, the next generation of Welsh nurses may be at risk before they’ve even stepped onto the wards.