Nurses and midwives are quitting the NHS in their thousands amid mounting workloads, plunging morale and poor pay, figures from the Nursing and Midwifery Council show.
The number leaving the profession has risen 51 per cent in four years. In the last financial year, 1,783 left – and were followed by another 3,264 in April and May this year, suggesting more dramatic falls lie ahead.
Royal College of Nursing chief executive Janet Davies said: ‘Patients are paying the price for the government’s failure to plan for the future and it looks set to get worse.’
In all 20 per cent more nurses and midwives quit than joined between 2016 and 2017.
‘The NHS will be further behind than ever from filling the 40,000 vacant nurse jobs in England alone,’ Ms Davies added.
When asked why they were going, almost half blamed working conditions such as staffing levels and workload, while more than a quarter were disillusioned by the quality of patient care.
Unions warn growing pressure on nurses and midwives – combined with a one per cent pay cap – threatened to force more out.
Among 247 from the EU leaving, nearly a third said Brexit was encouraging them to work abroad.
Only 46 nurses from the EU registered with the NMC in April – down 96 per cent from 1,304 last year.