More Nurses And Midwives Leaving UK Profession Than Joining, Figures Show

The latest Figures by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) shows an increase in the number of nurses and midwives leaving the profession in the UK than joining for the first time on record.

According to the NMC, the number of nurses and midwives leaving has risen by 51 per cent in just four years. The figures show that 20 per cent more people left the NMC register than joined it in between 2016 and 2017.

Here are listed some findings from the latest figures:

• The number of UK registrants leaving has increased from 19,819 in 2012/13 to 29,434 in 2016/17.
• The number of EU workers leaving has increased from 1,173 in 2012/2013 to 3,081 in 2016/2017.
• The Leavers from overseas have risen from 2,095 in 2012/2013 to 2,426 in 2016/2017.
• The number of leavers of age group 21 to 30 also almost doubled from 1,510 to 2,901.
• The overall number of leavers has increased from 23,087 in 2012/13 to 34,941 in 2016/17.
• Between 2016 and 2017, 45 per cent more UK registrants left the register than joined it for the first time.

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) called on the Government to scrap the pay cap as a matter of urgency to stop the numbers going.

The chief executive of the RCN, Janet Davies said that the patients were "paying the price" for the Government's "failure to plan for the future". With more nursing and midwifery professional leaving than joining, the National Health Service (NHS) will be further than ever from filling the 40,000 unfilled nurse jobs in England alone.

She further added that the 1 per cent pay cap means nursing staff can no longer afford to stay in the profession and scrapping student funding means people can no longer afford to join it.

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