The BMA is warning that insufficient Government funding for medical students in England for their lengthy degrees is pushing many into financial hardship.
A BMA survey published today of more than 3,500 medical students shows that 43%1 have considered leaving or pausing their course due to financial pressures.
The survey found that medical students across all years are struggling to cover even their basic living costs2:
62% spent less on essentials, such as food or heating.
Nearly three quarters asked their parents or family for additional financial support.
Over two fifths used their overdraft to cover living costs.
Over 500 respondents accessed hardship or emergency university funds.
One in ten took out a credit card or loan to cover living costs.
Over one hundred respondents used food banks.
The situation is even more dire for undergraduate students from their fifth year and post-graduate students from their second year when they transition from full student finance to NHS bursary funding. This leaves them thousands of pounds worse off3.
The survey reveals that for these students in receipt of reduced student finance maintenance and the NHS bursary, nine out of ten4 felt that funding available to them doesn't cover their living costs (hardly + not at all).
The BMA is calling on the UK government to address the drop in funding faced by medical students by ensuring they have access to full student finance maintenance for the entirety of their course – this is a small ask costing the treasury £24 million – only 0.12% of Student Finance annual lending.
Tommy Collings, a fourth year foundation entry student at the University of Manchester, is just one of the students disadvantaged by this drop in funding, he said:
“When I went on to the NHS bursary finance, I ended up being something crazy, like five or six thousand pounds worse off than the previous year.
“I have a colourful array of part-time jobs that I have had to string together to keep things going but this becomes even more difficult to do in your final year when you are on placement and have less free time, so having a reduction in finances in this year just compounds the difficulties. I have three jobs, and I have had to sell some of my belongings to get by. For a time, I even lived in a van outside the university as I couldn’t afford to live in rented accommodation; the spiral of debt is such a reality.
“By hook or by crook I will finish this course, but it has meant that I have had to really seriously adjust other parts of my life and has made it much more difficult for me to study medicine.”
The BMA is concerned that a failure to address this funding gap limits career options and is a serious barrier to widening participation in medicine, as the fear of financial hardship will be a deterrent for those students who do not have other sources of financial support. Indeed, the survey found that those who’ve previously received free school meals are more likely to report their finances as extremely detrimental to overall educational attainment and academic performance5.
Grace, who is at a medical school in the north-east on a widening participation scheme, told us about her concerns about how she is going to cover costs during her final year, with the added challenge of how her disability may impact her ability to work.
She said: “The drop in funding in the final year wasn’t something I was aware of when I applied to med school and by the time you have completed your fourth year you think ‘I can’t leave now’. I do wonder what I would have chosen if I had known this when I was 18. I could never understand why they were happy to support me in the first year but by the final year they say ‘ok you’re on your own now’.
“I get personal independent payments because I am disabled, so rather than using that for taxis or for what it is intended, I think that will end up getting spent on food in the final year.
“I know a lot of people try to balance studying along with working in their final year to try and make up the extra costs, but as a disabled student I don’t think that’s something I would be capable of doing. All my energy will be zapped from placement and studying, so there is no room for anything else to be added into the mix.”
At a time when the Government is trying to ensure there is a sustainable medical workforce in the NHS, the survey highlights that the current financial strain on many medical students is a detriment to training and retaining future doctors. 93% of students on the NHS bursary felt their financial situation is detrimental to their overall educational attainment6.
Spearheading the Fix our Finance campaign, the BMA’s medical student’s deputy co-chairs (finance) Henry Budden and Sophie Mitchell, said:
“These surveys findings are alarming and should be all the evidence the Government needs to see that the finance system for medical students in England is broken – now is the time to deliver on a solution.
“It is ludicrous, that at a time when the Government is committed to getting the NHS back on its feet and ensuring there is a strong medical workforce to care for patients, medical students that have worked hard to earn a place on their course are being met with these difficult financial barriers. Medicine is longer than many other degrees for good reason; because we want to ensure doctors working in the NHS have the best possible training. It is only right then that they should receive the appropriate funding to see them through the entirety of their course.
“The stories from medical students who are worried about how they will manage to pay their rent or cover basics such as food, and those who are burning themselves out trying to balance multiple jobs alongside the demands of a medicine degree are disheartening and unnecessary.
“We are also hearing from those who are feeling increasingly alienated from their fellow students who have more financial support, as this funding gap is creating a worrying divide and placing too many students at a disadvantage. If Government don’t change this, it will only discourage hardworking, talented students from more diverse backgrounds to pursue a career in medicine.
“By ensuring that medical students can retain their entitlement to full student finance maintenance funding throughout the entirety of their studies, the Government can drastically improve the financial outlook for many concerned students in England today.”
Notes to editors
We have case studies and spokespeople available for interviews. Please call 020 7383 6448 and ask for Amy or Sophie.
1. 43% answered “yes – frequently” (12.7%), or “yes - occasionally” (30.3%) to the question “As a result of your financial situation, have you considered pausing your studies or leaving medicine?”
2. 73.0% answered “hardly” (39.0%) or “not at all” (34.0%) to the question “For the current year you are completing, to what extent do you feel the money you are able to access from student finance is sufficient to cover your living costs?”
3 Students in their bursary year were £3647 worse off on average than students on SFE maintenance funding
4. 92.2% of students on the NHS bursary answered “hardly” (53.0%) or “not at all” (39.2%) to the question “To what extent do you feel the NHS Bursary and student maintenance funding taken together are sufficient to cover your living costs in the year you are currently completing?”
5. 47.9% of those who received free school meals at some point, compared with 31.6% of medical students overall
6. 93.0% of students answered “extremely detrimental” (41.6%) or “slightly detrimental” (51.4%) to the question “To what extent do you feel your financial situation is detrimental or beneficial to your overall educational attainment?”
The BMA is a professional association and trade union representing and negotiating on behalf of all doctors in the UK. A leading voice advocating for outstanding health care and a healthy population. An association providing members with excellent individual services and support throughout their lives.
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