A drive to increase interest in primary care nursing has quadrupled student nurse placement capacity in GP surgeries in Wales, according to the national body overseeing health training in the devolved nation.
In 2022, Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) found that only 5% of GP practices in Wales offered student nurse placements and recommended that work should be done to improve this.
“Primary care has been an area where student nurses may not have been aware of what goes on as it was never part of the student nurse programme”
Nicola Wallis
Supported by HEIW, primary care providers have been working to increase the national capacity for placements to train nurses, pharmacists, GPs and other healthcare professionals.
This has, in part, been done through the use of HEIW-funded practice education facilitators (PEFs) who help bridge the gap between universities and workplaces to support placements.
HEIW said the recent work had led to a roughly 300% increase in placement capacity between November 2023 and February 2025; the number of practices hosting nurses has risen from 18 to 72.
As part of this expansion, Swansea Bay University Health Board, in collaboration with HEIW, Swansea University and local PEFs, has been able to provide six week-long placements at GP surgeries for nursing students in the area.
The health board said that, previously, placements for undergraduate nurses at GP surgeries were “limited”.
Nicola Wallis, an advanced clinical practitioner and nurse manager at Riverside Surgery, one of the participating primary care providers in the area, spoke about the “wonderful” first nurse student her practice hosted.
“Primary care has been an area where student nurses may not have been aware of what goes on as it was never part of the student nurse programme,” said Ms Wallis.
She added: “Taking the time to teach the students and show them what we do has been a big thing as we haven’t done it before, but it is great to pass on the skills to the next generation.
“I think providing this opportunity will help to give students a really good insight into what an amazing career you can have in primary care as a nurse in a GP practice.”
Ms Wallis said she hoped the project could mean permanent placement spots for student nurses in the future, and further expansion: “We may even be able to have two at the same time.
“We are also hoping to have some more advanced students too, maybe second or third-year students, where they could experience a bit more.
“I think it’s important to be a part of the programme because students will learn so much by experiencing it first-hand.”
Other GP practices across the Swansea and Port Talbot areas are also hosting more student nurses for placements.
Helen Beckett, a senior lecturer in children’s nursing at Swansea University, said the project was “exciting” and she welcomed the additional opportunities it gives her students.
“They will have the opportunity to experience primary care and work alongside the multidisciplinary team, supporting service users and their families in the community,” she said.
“This interprofessional collaborative approach enables students to develop a wide range of clinical skills and develop their knowledge around holistic, person-centred care.”
Swansea Bay deputy head of nursing for primary care Clare James added: “Raising the profile of primary care nursing as we continue to bring care closer to home and introducing new nurses into general practice is a very exciting time for us and we have welcomed this opportunity.”
Across the UK, interest in and capacity for placements in areas outside of hospitals are problematic.
For example, a 2024 Skills for Care report drew attention to the need for additional placements for students in social care.
