New analysis of the NHS workforce says that record numbers of nurses are quitting the NHS in England, with the situation similar in the rest of the UK. More than 40,000 have left the health service in the past year, many citing stress and work/life balance as the reasons for doing so.
That amounts to one in nine of the workforce, data examined by the Nuffield Trust for the BBC has shown. The think tank said many of these were highly skilled and knowledgeable nurses with years left in their careers.
The Government may struggle to hit its target to recruit an extra 50,000 nurses in England during this Parliament, the Nuffield Trust said. Meanwhile, the Department of Health has said it will publish a workforce strategy and is half-way towards its recruitment target.
However, data shows there were just 4,000 more joiners than leavers, meaning the high number of leavers is almost cancelling out the rise in new joiners. Dr Billy Palmer, from the Nuffield Trust, told the BBC the data is an “urgent wake-up call” and suggested there are “deep-rooted issues with working practices and employment conditions” that are leading nurses to quit.
The data also showed the proportion of nurses quitting in Scotland is almost exactly the same and, while similar data is not available in Wales and Northern Ireland, other indicators suggest they are seeing significant numbers leaving. Throughout the UK, nurses working in the community were the most likely to have left their jobs.
Dr Palmer said: “There has been a staggering jump in the number of NHS nurses leaving active service. While every year we would expect nurses to retire, it is very concerning to see the numbers who cite the reasons for considering or actually leaving as health concerns or work-life balance.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “As the health and social care secretary has said, we are focused on delivering for patients on the issues they care about most. This includes easing pressure on ambulances, clearing the Covid backlogs, supporting discharge from hospital and ensuring improved access to doctors and dentists. All of this will be driven by a bolstered workforce. There are over 29,000 more nurses working in the NHS now compared with September 2019, so we are over half-way to delivering on our commitment to have 50,000 more nurses in the NHS by 2024.
“We have also commissioned NHS England to develop a long-term workforce plan to help recruit and retain more NHS staff.”
