A trainee paramedic says she has to shower at the gym and charge her phone at university due to the rising cost of living. Ashely McLeod, 26, spends around 2,000 hours per term on unpaid placements and is also juggling part time shifts on the NHS roster, placement hours and volunteers with emergency first aiders Street Assist.
The third year student at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh lives with three other trainee paramedics and the group have extra costs associated with their course, including travelling to placements and paying for an ambulance driving license.
As reported by Edinburgh Live, Ashley says the group have taken extreme measures to survive - including having their boiler off since July.
The student, originally from Dunfermline, said: "It's going to be a really difficult time ahead. "We have already turned our boiler off because the costs were too high.
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