Under-45s lead exodus of hospital nursing staff as analysis shows almost 23,000 younger staff have quit this year
- Research found that almost a quarter of all those who left were under 30
- More than 40,000 nurses have left in the past 12 months according to research
- The King’s Fund added that there was a 25 per cent rise in the number leaving
Two-thirds of nurses who left the NHS in the past year were under 45, damning analysis by a think-tank shows.
Nearly 23,000 younger nurses quit, up 26 per cent from the previous year for this age group, said the King’s Fund.
It found that almost a quarter of all those who left were under 30, showing the exodus is not driven by retirement.
Last week analysis by the Nuffield Trust revealed that more than 40,000 nurses have left in the past year, one in nine of the workforce.
Nearly 23,000 younger nurses quit, up 26 per cent from the previous year for this age group, said the King’s Fund
The King’s Fund added that from June 2021 to June this year, there was a 25 per cent rise in the number leaving, with 7,000 more going compared with the previous year.
According to the most recent NHS staff survey, 52 per cent had felt unwell due to work-related stress and 40 per cent felt burnt out.
Nurses are also angry over pay with voting about to start on strike action for the first time in the Royal College of Nursing’s 100-year history.
The Department of Health said there were over 29,000 more nurses in the NHS than in September 2019.
According to the most recent NHS staff survey, 52 per cent had felt unwell due to work-related stress and 40 per cent felt burnt out
The RCN, which represents more than 465,000 registered nurses, midwives, health care assistants and nursing students, had asked for a fully funded pay rise for nurses of 5 per cent above inflation.
But in August the Government announced that NHS staff in England would get a rise of £1,400 for all pay bands, which is about 4 per cent for an experienced nurse.
The ballot will open on Thursday and close on November 2.
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, Pat Cullen, said the new analysis ‘is yet more compelling evidence of the workforce crisis facing patient safety’.
She said: ‘The last thing anyone needs, when there’s a record of nearly 47,000 unfilled nurse posts in England, is younger nurses leaving shortly after joining the NHS.
‘What is desperately lacking from the UK Government here, as well as a plan, is any sense of urgency.
‘This week nurses are voting on strike action and telling the Prime Minister that she must grip this situation – pay our profession fairly and give health and care services the investment the public expects.
‘Exodus from jobs we love can’t continue. Services are unsafe.’
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