Gordon Brown announced the redundancies in March 2004 as part of wider cuts across the civil service in order to channel cash into frontline services, such a doctors and nurses.
She complained that nurses were having to log-off from generic accounts through which they could access health records, in order to access personal accounts through which they apply for leave or register overtime.
As part of a pilot scheme, nurses will have to spend a year working as support workers and healthcare assistants before taking a degree, in order to better understand the caring role of frontline staff.