Campaign aims to coax former nurses back to practice in London
Registrants’ return could cut capital’s high nurse and midwife vacancy rates
A recruitment campaign aims to persuade former nurses and midwives they are key to addressing the staff shortage in London.
Vacancy rates for nurses and midwives in the capital are the highest in England and Health Education England (HEE) wants to encourage people who left practice to restart their careers there.
HEE chief nurse Mark Radford said: ‘There are many reasons why nurses may leave the profession, including family and caring responsibilities.
‘We are looking to support those who are keen to come back, but perhaps don’t know that they can, or how to get started.’
Practical support for those who want to return to practice
Health Education England (HEE) is offering returners access to experienced NHS staff to help them find return to practice courses, placement providers, or employers.
HEE hopes some former nurses could return to work as early as next month, while those who need to complete a return to practice course could start in 2021.
Professor Radford said HEE has not set a recruitment target for this campaign, adding: ‘Our main goal is to make sure we provide high quality support for every returner. The response rate so far is the highest for any recent returner campaign.’
Vacancy rate is high in the capital because of the cost of living
Latest NHS Digital data show there were 9,039 full-time-equivalent nursing vacancies in London in March 2020, with most of these in acute care and mental health. This means London’s nurse vacancy rate of just over 13%.
An RCN London survey published in January indicated more than half of London nurses wanted to leave because of the cost of living.
Read more on the return to practice campaign.
Related material
- HEE Return to nursing and midwifery in London
- NHS Vacancy Statistics England February 2015-March 2020
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