MORE work is needed to stem the number of nurses quitting the profession, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) warned today, as figures revealed a “deeply alarming” retention crisis.
The latest Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) annual report on its register of nurses, midwives and nursing associates in Britain shows 27,168 staff left the profession between April 2023 and March 2024.
Though a slight decrease from the previous 12 months, 20.3 per cent of the total — 5,508 — did so within the first 10 years compared with 18.8 per cent in 2020-21, and “reflects a rise over the last three years,” according to the report.
RCN general secretary and chief executive Professor Nicola Ranger called the figures “deeply alarming” and said: “When the vacancy rate is high and care standards often poor due to staffing levels, the NHS cannot afford to lose a single individual.
“New ministers have to grasp the nettle and make nursing an attractive career.”
The NMC found that retirement, poor health and burnout were the top three reasons why staff left.
Of the leavers, 49 per cent said they left the profession earlier than expected.
Prof Ranger added: “Working in understaffed, under-resourced services is taking its toll, with poor physical health, mental health and burnout pushing highly trained nursing staff out the door.
“This is a tragedy for patient care.
“The reality for the government is that international recruitment is masking the failure to recruit enough domestic nursing staff, with equal numbers joining services from overseas.
“Our migrant nursing staff are incredible and vital to the delivery of our health and care services, but this over-reliance is unsustainable and unethical.
“The new government must step in and rescue the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.”
In Scotland, figures show a 2 per cent net increase in nurses registered in Scotland, but the RCN said there is an upward trend in those leaving.
RCN Scotland director Colin Poolman said: “We urgently need to see a retention strategy.
“Without it, the Scottish government won’t be able to fill the stubbornly persistent gaps we have now in the nursing workforce, never mind attract those from the wider pool of nurses shown in the NMC data or to fill each new year’s training places.”
