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Dept of Health

Answer

Mr. Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what bursaries are available for the training of biomedical scientists in the NHS; and on what criteria bursaries are awarded to support (a) paramedical services and (b) professions supplementary to medicine. [161013] Mr. Hutton: National Health Service bursaries are available to students who attend any one of a range of degree or higher education diploma-level health professional courses commissioned and funded by strategic health authority workforce directorates. Biomedical scientists will usually have attended a non-NHS vocational degree course where the funding for the course and student support arrangements fall under the Department for Education and Skills' general arrangements for students. This is followed by pre- registration training where they are paid a salary and work under a qualified biomedical scientist whilst gaining experience leading to state registration. Training for the paramedical services is not usually undertaken by means of undergraduate or equivalent courses, instead it is usually done through employment- based training and short vocational courses. In-service candidates are funded by ambulance trusts from their own budgets. NHS bursaries are available to students undertaking undergraduate courses leading to professional registration in a range of professions supplementary to medicine, now referred to as allied health professions. The aim of this policy is to support recruitment to those professions supported under the scheme and hence to those branches of health care.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

419 c383W;419 c385W; 161013

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Finance Health professions Higher education NHS Medicine Paramedical staff Training Scientists Allied health professions

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk