A DRIVE to recruit the next generation of nurses has been launched by Oxford Brookes University and the county's NHS services.

In the same year as Brookes celebrated 125 years of nursing education, the number of would-be students applying for nursing courses plummeted by 23 per cent.

It comes as it was revealed Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust managed to maintain safe levels of nursing care in its hospitals in January most of the time, according to official figures.

Professor Catherine Stoddart, outgoing chief nurse at OUH, said: "Brookes students play a vital role in supporting our hospitals.

"We are committed to providing many opportunities for personal and career development, including initiatives to help them secure employment with the trust."

Across the UK a 17 per cent drop in applications by students in England for degrees in nursing, midwifery and allied health professions (AHP) has been reported by UCAS.

Brookes would not reveal the number of applicants for 2017/18, saying it was 'commercially sensitive', but has produced 1,800 nursing graduates in the last five years.

It had also opened a new building last August in Swindon aiming to meet demand for adult nursing courses and the needs of local NHS trusts.

It has been suggested suggested changes to the way nursing is financed is a root cause, with would-be students being 'put off'.

As of the 2017/18 academic year students on nursing, midwifery and AGP courses will take out loans like other students rather than getting an NHS grant.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Alistair Fitt said: "This increases the amount of funding available and should not be viewed as a barrier to entry.

"Based on the current repayment terms, a graduate on the usual starting salary for a nurse or allied health professional would expect to pay £5.25 per month.

"All of us know what a tremendous difference our NHS makes every single day and it’s therefore important to bust myths about the changes to funding."

David Bailey, a current nurse at the John Radcliffe hospital, took part in the 'bursary or bust' campaign against the change last year.

He said: "A lot of applicants were mature students on their second career, or single parents. A significant financial burden is going to make you think twice."

In October 2016 96 per cent of acute hospitals nationwide reported not having enough nurses to fill their day shifts.

Nurse staffing levels are deemed safe by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence if hospitals can find cover for 75 per cent of planned hours.

In January registered nurses were able to cover 236,349 hours of a planned 24,8173 at OUH hospital sites, a total of 95.24 per cent.

But some individual wards fared less well, with daytime coverage for cardiothoractic surgery at the John Radcliffe Hospital down to 80 per cent and the renal ward at the Churchill Hospital technically 'unsafe' with just 72.4 per cent of shifts covered.

Mr Bailey said: "Retaining staff is a problem. There's a certain amount of stress and you have to be resilient to work there in the long term.

"Nurses leave Oxfordshire to go to London because they can commute from here but get London weighting, which helps with rent."

Current mature adult nursing student Christine Sennett said: "I had wanted to work in a health care profession for a number of years.

"I was really happy to be accepted by Oxford Brookes for the Adult Nursing course and I have enjoyed every aspect of the course.

"For the first time in my life I can make a difference in someone's life and learn something interesting every day."