Nurses quitting health service to buy homes

Calls for more housing help

Sunday, 19, Jun 2005 12:00

Nurses are being forced to abandon their profession and take on better paid jobs because they cannot afford to buy homes, nursing leaders have said.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said the Government's scheme to help public sector workers get on the property ladder had helped some nurses, but stressed that many were still excluded from applying for help.

Under the Key Worker Living scheme, public sector workers such as nurses and teachers can apply for loans of up to £50,000, or shared ownership schemes to help buy a house.

But the current scheme currently excludes those who live beyond south east England and nurses employed outside the NHS in the private and charity sectors. Overseas nurses in the UK on work permits are also ineligible for assistance.

The RCN also claims that the scheme is overstretched and is pressing the Government to put more money into the initiative.

In its first year, the scheme helped 653 nurses in the South East. So far this year, the scheme has received 25,000 applications, of which 5,197 are completed or are at an advanced stage.

But the Government has revealed that money for the scheme is almost fully committed in some areas after just two months.

Claire Cannings, the RCN's welfare officer, said: "For the 653 nurses helped already, the scheme has been fantastic. But the key worker scheme is over-stretched and the money is already running out. For the many nurses who aren't eligible for this scheme, it can seem divisive and extremely unfair."

The Government said the scheme was only intended to target those areas where it was hardest to recruit and retain staff.

"People may have problems buying a property, but if they are not in an area where there is a recruitment and retention issue, the scheme does not operate," said a spokesman for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, which oversees the scheme.