Surge in new nurses quitting profession within five years
Posted 02 December 2024 - 11:28
Jump in numbers of newly registered nurses and midwives leaving the professions is the devastating result of low pay, understaffing and burnout, says nurses’ leader
Numbers leaving the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register within five years of joining it have shot up by 48% in six months.
Some 1,799 nurses and midwives left the register between April and September 2024 – a year-on-year increase of 48.6% since the same period last year, when 1,211 newly registered nurses left.
NMC monitoring for trends in average time on register
The number of nurses leaving the register overall was up, with 14,142 departures in the six-month period, rising 6.3% in one year. The NMC said it would be monitoring for long-term trends.
The regulator’s mid-annual data report stated: ‘We know when somebody leaves the register it’s not necessarily forever and there are thousands of returners each year, but we’ll monitor to see whether it is the start of a gradual trend towards less time on the register on average.’
‘Burnout is pushing nursing staff out’
Nicola Ranger, RCN general secretary
12-year low for UK nursing degree acceptances
The report revealed 45.9% of joiners in the six months to September were from overseas, with internationally educated registrants now making up a quarter (200,362) of all nurses and midwives in the UK. The largest overseas cohort is from India, with 67,576 registrants making up 8% of the register.
Universities and Colleges Admissions Service data this summer showed the number of people accepted on to undergraduate nursing courses in the UK declined to it lowest level since 2012.
RCN general secretary Nicola Ranger said: ‘Nurse recruitment is slowing, the number of starters is falling and we are witnessing a devastating increase in people leaving within five years. At a time of widespread vacancies, these trends are incredibly worrying.
‘It’s important to view leavers’ data through the lens of a growing register’
Kuljit Dhillon, interim executive director of strategy and insight, NMC
‘Working for low pay in understaffed services takes its toll, with burnout pushing nursing staff out. Across England, we desperately need a loan forgiveness scheme to boost domestic recruitment. The government’s NHS reforms stand no chance without addressing these fundamentals.’
NMC register is at a record high, despite surge in leavers
NMC interim executive director of strategy and insight Kuljit Dhillon said: ‘We hope there is small comfort in the growth of our register to a record 841,000.
‘At the same time, there are notes of caution around international recruitment. We’ve seen a fall in internationally educated joiners and an even higher proportional rise in leavers, although it’s important to view leavers’ data through the lens of a growing register.’
In other news