Nursing — Debate

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 1:22 pm on 1 December 2011.

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Photo of Earl Howe Earl Howe The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health 1:22, 1 December 2011

In the time available, I shall do so very briefly. Access to nursing is, as the noble Lord will know, already through quite a wide entry gate-through progression from apprenticeships, NVQs and access courses. Universities set the entry standards and do not always rely on A-level qualifications. However, it is important that students must be able to cope with degree-level study-it would be wrong to set them up to fail. However, we are aware that the entry gate about which the noble Lord, Lord MacKenzie, spoke needs to be as wide as reasonably possible.

It is patients who matter most. As a Government, we are committed to bringing about the improvements in front-line nursing care that patients want.