‘I get £770 a month – what’s in the budget affects everything’

Llion Wright-Evans, 24 is a student nurse working in one of Glasgow’s biggest hospitals.

Leaving a full-time job working as a team leader in a care home was a big step for him – from £15 an hour to living on a £770 per month bursary. At the end of his training his starting salary in nursing will be £16.50 an hour.

He believes he has a vital role within the struggling NHS and hopes to see investment from the Scottish government.

“What they announce affects my career. It impacts my decisions on everything.

“Will I be able to have a break and treat myself, or be afford to eat next week? A big increase in funding would be good because the answer is more people.

“I am lucky as a student I can spend time with patients but the actual nurses are going through hardships. I see valuable staff leaving.”

Llion lives with his partner and considers himself lucky.

“We split everything 50-50 and even then I am sometimes living month-to-month. I sometimes borrow money from my mum. Lots of my cohort live by themselves so it’s worse for them.”

Llion tops up his bursary with shifts at the care home. He can earn anything between £400 and £1,400 a month but has to fit this around his nursing placements. He has to complete 2,300 hours of training on the wards.

He would also like to see more progressive taxation.

“Those that earn more and have more income should be taxed more. There is more to be done even though Scotland is the most progressive in the UK.”