Record number of nurses quit NHS for better work-life balance
Record numbers of nurses are quitting the NHS in England, according to a new analysis, with stress and work-life balance driving the exodus.
More than 40,000 have left the health service in the past year – one in nine of the workforce, according to official data examined by the Nuffield Trust.
And a survey by NHS Providers revealed this week that nurses are leaving the NHS to take up better paid jobs in the hospitality sector.
The think tank said many of these were highly skilled and knowledgeable nurses and there is increasing evidence that stress and the need for a better work-life balance is driving them to leave.
Unless something is done the Government will struggle to hit its target to recruit an extra 50,000 nurses in England during this Parliament, it said.
Halfway towards target
The Department of Health said it would publish a workforce strategy and is halfway towards its recruitment target.
But data shows there were just 4,000 more joiners than leavers, meaning the high number of leavers is almost cancelling out the rise in new recruits.
The analysis, first reported by the BBC, has also shown the proportion of nurses quitting in Scotland is almost exactly the same. While similar data is not available in Wales and Northern Ireland, other indicators suggest they are seeing significant numbers leaving.
Dr Billy Palmer, from the Nuffield Trust, told the BBC the data is an "urgent wake-up call" and suggested there are "deep-rooted issues with working practices and employment conditions" that are leading nurses to quit.
For the analysis, the Nuffield Trust used data provided by NHS Digital, which tracks the number of nurses joining and leaving over the course of the year.
It looked at those in permanent roles at NHS trusts that provide hospital, community and mental health care. Nurses working in the community were the most likely to have left their job.
Classed as leavers
Those taking career breaks or going on maternity leave would both be classed as leavers, though when and if they come back they are classed as joiners.
Dr Palmer said: "There has been a staggering jump in the number of NHS nurses leaving active service.
"Nurses are integral to the functioning of the health service, so it should be an urgent wake-up call that one in nine left their posts in the year.”
The Department of Health said: “There are over 29,000 more nurses working in the NHS now compared with September 2019, so we are over halfway to delivering on our commitment to have 50,000 more nurses in the NHS by 2024.
"We have also commissioned NHS England to develop a long-term workforce plan to help recruit and retain more NHS staff."
