Labour’s health plans will be “undeliverable” unless they can stop the mass exodus of nursing from the profession, experts say.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is warning ministers they are facing a “perfect storm” with more staff leaving the profession and fewer joining, threatening patient care.
Plans to modernize the NHS and move care into the community will require tens of thousands more nurses working in local communities outside hospitals.
But analysis of the latest data from the Nursing Midwifery Council (NMC) found that significantly more nurses quit within a few years of joining the profession.
Dissatisfaction over pay is likely to have worsened since Labor promised pay rises to resident doctors and train drivers, both significantly higher than those offered to nursing staff.
Royal College of Nursing and Unite NHS workers on strike in May 2023. The RCN has warned of a “perfect storm” in which more staff will leave the profession and fewer join it.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting. The Government has been urged to substantially increase salaries to make nursing more attractive and boost recruitment.
The university predicts that more than 11,000 nurses will quit within a decade of qualifying, equivalent to the entire workforce of district nurses, health visitors and school nurses in England.
The RCN analyzed the latest NMC data on UK-trained nurses leaving the register in England. Between 2021 and 2024, the number of people who left the country within 10 years of registration increased by 43 percent, while those who left the country within five years increased by 67 percent.
It says the government must now substantially increase salaries to make nursing more attractive and waive graduate loans for nurses who agree to continue working in the NHS and public sector.
This would boost recruitment, retention and alleviate staff shortages, they say, as there are currently more than 32,000 vacant nursing roles in England.
Professor Nicola Ranger, general secretary and chief executive of the RCN, said thousands of nurses are quitting prematurely because they are exhausted, underpaid and demoralised.
He said: ‘It is a perfect storm for ministers as thousands leave the profession prematurely and student recruitment collapses.
“If no action is taken, it will be impossible to move from the hospital to the community.”
He added: ‘The Health Secretary urged staff to stay and help him reform the NHS. You need to give them a reason to stay. We urgently need new investment in nursing, including through better pay.
‘It is crucial to waive loans for those committing to a nursing career in the NHS and public sector. The government cannot afford to wait.”
The number of UK-trained nurses leaving the Nursing Midwifery Council register in England in a decade rose from 1,607 to 2,295 between 2021 and 2024 (file photo)
The number of UK-trained nurses leaving the NMC register in England in a decade increased from 1,607 to 2,295, between 2021 and 2024.
Those who left in five years increased from 697 to 1,166, an increase of 67 percent, according to RCN.
Their analysis projects that another 11,307 will leave the profession by 2029, while the number of people joining the profession has also fallen by up to 40 per cent in some parts of the country.
In September, two-thirds of the RCN’s 145,000 members said this year’s 5.5 percent pay concession was not enough and called for a “much larger” rise.
It and other royal colleges have also called for a House of Commons inquiry into what they call “unrealistic workforce plans” by the new government.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘This Government has inherited a workforce that has been undervalued for years, leaving them exhausted and demoralised. That is why we accept the recommendations of independent pay review bodies to give NHS staff a pay rise above inflation.
“It will take time, but together we will recover and rebuild our NHS, making it a service staff can be proud to work in once again.”