SIR - Philip Johnston (Why are ministers causing irrational panic about the mutant Covid strain? - December 23) makes many excellent points. But he is ill-informed in quoting Dr Ann Bradshaw's misguided Spiked online article about nursing education and the use of nursing students during the pandemic. The familiar trope about the mistakes inherent in moving nursing education to universities is included. The fact are as follows: nursing students spend exactly the same amount of time in clinical practice as they did prior to the move to universities; graduate nurses demonstrably save more lives than non-graduate nurses; first year nursing students had their studies suspended at the start of the pandemic in order that they could help in the NHS; and all other nursing students are spending the usual amount to time in clinical practice.
Roger Watson
East Yorkshire
