QAA finds Liverpool University nurses put in too few hours

A visit from the Quality Assurance Agency has found that Liverpool University has been failing to meet statutory requirements for training nurses.

The university confirmed this week that the QAA found that its undergraduate nursing students were spending too few hours on clinical placements.

The university's four-year BA course in nursing has 7 per cent fewer hours than the 4,600 hours required under European Union law.

The university said the shortfall has resulted from "course development changes" and the "cumulative effect of modifications made to the course".

Peter Johnson, dean of the faculty of medicine, said: "This is a discrepancy that affects one element of one degree course. All the other outcomes of the QAA visit were positive."