Ms Anne O'Connor:

We do not have a number because of the number of disciplines across health and social care services. There are 23 different disciplines in the health and social care group outside medics and nursing, and they come and go. Some may be in for a year; for example, a medical student may spend a year in a service while other students could be in for just a couple of months. We have no way of knowing at any point the number across all the services.

It is important to note students work under supervision. They are critical in being there but they are supervised. In nursing, for example, they have staff whose job it is to look after and mentor students on-site. Depending on their stage of training and all that, it can be a very different picture. It depends on the discipline and the year they are in.