WIREDGOV

Suzie Bailey, Director of Leadership and Organisational Development at The King’s Fund commented on the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s annual data registration report

‘Endeavours to recruit more nurses, midwives and nursing associates are making an impact, but England is still heavily reliant on international recruitment, and the number of staff cutting their careers short means greater efforts to retain the current workforce needs to remain a high priority. 

‘However, the speed in which staff quit the nursing and midwifery profession is alarming, with a fifth leaving within 10 years of joining the register, and half of the respondents to the leaver’s survey saying this was much earlier than they planned. Many are citing poor mental and physical health and burnout as reasons for leaving, which tallies with the results of the NHS staff survey, which showed that two in five staff report feeling unwell due to work-related stress. Clearly, there is still work to do to make health and care a more attractive place to build and maintain a career. 

‘Today’s data shows a continued reliance on international recruitment, particularly from India and the Philippines, but there has also been a concerning rise in the number of staff joining the register from ‘red list’ countries. Whilst the NHS is banned from actively recruiting in these nations, individual staff can still choose to come to the UK to work in the health service. ‘Red list’ countries can ill-afford to lose their healthcare professionals and England cannot and should not rely on people from these nations to plug NHS workforce gaps in the long term.  

‘International staff are highly valued colleagues critical to the delivery of healthcare in this country and employers can do more to provide targeted support for international staff starting life and work in the UK for the first time. 

‘As the population of our country grows older and sicker, demand for health care is set to continue rising. There is work to be done by the new government and health and care leaders, both nationally and regionally, to provide the number of staff the health and care system needs, including greater focus on staff development, health and wellbeing, and to support improved retention rates.’

Notes to editors