London (Parliament Politics Magazine) – A fifth of the nursing and midwifery specialists who vacated the register in the last year accomplished so within 10 years of joining, figures reveal.
Nursing leaders defined the statistic as “deeply alarming” and urged ministers to “grasp the nettle and push nursing as an attractive career”. The latest Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) annual information on its register of nurses, midwives and nursing associates in the UK reveals 27,168 staff left the profession between April 2023 and March 2024, a slight decline on the previous 12 months. However, 20.3 per cent of the total – or 5,508 – did so within the first 10 years.
How Can Nursing Be Made an Attractive Career?
Professor Nicola Ranger, general secretary and chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), stated: “It is deeply disturbing that over 5,000 young, early-career nursing staff decided to quit the profession last year, most vowing never to return. When the vacancy rate is increased and care standards are often lacking due to staffing levels, the NHS cannot afford to lose a single individual. New ministers have to learn the nettle and make nursing an attractive career.”
How Is Burnout Affecting Nursing and Midwifery Staff?
The NMC requested a portion of the staff who departed the register between January 2023 and March 2024 – a sum of 32,950 professionals – to complete a leavers survey, which attracted 7,647 responses. It discovered retirement, poor health and burnout were the highest three reasons why staff left. Of the leavers, 49 per cent stated they left the profession earlier than anticipated. The ratio of staff likely to return to a profession in nursing or midwifery stayed low at 8 per cent, although one in three stated they would consider working outside the UK.
Why Is the Early Departure of Nurses Alarming?
Prof Ranger said: “Working in understaffed, under-resourced assistance is taking its toll, with poor physical health, mental fitness and burnout pushing highly-trained nursing staff out the door. This is a catastrophe for patient care. The reality for the Government is that global recruitment is masking the failure to draft enough domestic nursing staff, with equal numbers joining services from overseas.
“Our migrant nursing staff are great and vital to the delivery of our health and care services, but this over-reliance is unsustainable and unethical. The new Government must foot in and rescue the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.” ?
How Is the Government Addressing Nursing Staff Shortages?
The stats on leavers come as the NMC report showed there are now more nurses, midwives and nursing associates on its record than ever, at 826,418. The whole is 4.8 per cent – or 37,723 – taller than 12 months ago, and 18.4 per cent taller than five years ago.
The NMC accommodated the record numbers “given the challenges of growing demand for health and social care services, changing needs and workforce pressures”. Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, stated: “It’s great to see more NHS nurses, midwives and nursing associates than ever before, but the hard part now is holding on to them.”