Stephen has written to the Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, asking whether the NHS bursary can be increased for student doctors in the penultimate two years of their training.
A number of trainee doctors from East Ham have been in touch with Stephen. They note that a medical degree is uniquely funded compared to other three year courses - medical students normally spend five to six years at medical school. These final years are covered by the NHS bursary, which is less than what they were provided with by student finance in previous years. There are fears that this could deter would be doctors from poorer backgrounds, as medical students are now graduating with over £100,000 of debt.
In his letter. Stephen asked for immediate access to full maintenance loans as well as access to the NHS Learning Support fund, which has already been made available to other healthcare students.
Having spoken to some of his constituents about this issue, Stephen said: “I am troubled by the lack of support offered to medical students in the UK.
“The current shortage of NHS workers means that the government cannot afford to deter any future doctors.”