Britain has more nurses than EVER after jump of 30,000 in a year
The number of nurses working in the UK has risen to an all-time high, new figures show today, as their union begins voting for more strikes.
According to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), there are now 788,638 nurses, midwives and nurses registered to work in the UK.
The regulator welcomed the increase of more than 30,000 in a year, but warned sharply about the number leaving the profession prematurely.
In addition, data shows that more than half of new registrants have been trained abroad, leading the Royal College of Nursing to warn the NHS that it has become ‘too reliant’ on unsustainable overseas recruitment.
The NMC pointed to “worrying findings” from its departure survey showing that many decided to leave the profession due to burnout or exhaustion, concerns about the quality of care, workload or staffing.
An analysis of Nursing and Midwifery Council figures by the Nuffield Trust found that two-thirds of all new nursing and midwifery staff in the three years since September 2019 have been international recruits. non-British personnel, while only 22,226 were UK-trained
While the workforce of full-time equivalent adult nurses, who account for most nurses in the NHS in England, has risen, the number of total nurse vacancies has remained stubbornly high, official figures show. This has made the NHS essential when it comes to tackling staff shortages
Just over half of leavers (52 percent) told the NMC that they would retire ‘earlier than planned’ in 2022.
A nurse, who left the register in her thirties, told the NMC: “Instead of leaving work feeling that I had helped someone, I left work afraid that someone was seriously ill because the ward was overcrowded.”
Another in his early sixties added, “I retired earlier than I could have due to the pressures of work.
“Lack of staff, high caseloads, increasing demands on staff without improved resources all lead to high stress levels.”
An estimated 1.2 percent of the population is now registered to work as a nurse or midwife, according to the NMC.
Of these, 731,058 are registered nurses, 41,716 are midwives and 9,339 nurses can practice in England.
According to the NMC’s latest report, there was a record 52,148 new members last year, nearly half of whom trained abroad.
The NMC said professionals trained around the world now account for one in five nurses, midwives and nurses able to practice in the UK.
The number of nurses aged 56 and over, including professionals of NHS retirement age, rose to 167,002 last year.
There were nearly 87,000 men on the register, nearly 11 percent of all nurses, midwives and nurses.
And 6,734 of the people on the registry said their gender is not the same as at birth, up from 5,907 in March 2022.
Andrea Sutcliffe, Managing Director and Registrar at the NMC, said: ‘At a time of rising demand for health and care services, it is good news that our registry has grown to record levels, thanks to an increase in domestically trained joiners along with the continued wave of international recruitment.
“While recruitment remains strong, there are clear warnings that workloads are driving people away from professions – many are leaving the register ahead of schedule due to burnout or exhaustion, lack of support from colleagues, concerns about the quality of people’s care, workload and staffing.
“Our insight can support nurses and midwives in health and social care to focus on the right issues in their retention strategies.
“Addressing those issues should be a collaborative effort aimed at improving staff well-being and retention for the benefit of all who use services.”
The number of internationally trained nurses joining the NHS has skyrocketed in recent years. The number has risen year on year, minus an outbreak of the Covid pandemic that has hampered immigration, data from the Nursing and Midwifery Council shows. The number of international nurse recruits is now almost equal to the number of UK nurses entering the profession for the first time
The RCN yesterday began getting nearly 300,000 of its members to vote for another strike as it pursues a new “double-digit” wage deal from the government.
Pat Cullen, the union’s general manager and general secretary, had urged its members to accept a 5 percent raise and a one-time bonus, but they rejected it in a vote.
Commenting on the new NMC figures, she said: ‘With half of all new start-ups coming from abroad, it is clear that the government’s failure to draw up a domestic workforce plan has hit hard.
“While internationally trained nursing staff are a vital and valued part of the NHS, over-reliance on staff from abroad, including those countries with shortages of their own, is not sustainable.”
Wes Streeting MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, accused the government of ‘poaching’ workers from countries with their own shortages.
He said: ‘The government is bringing in a record number of foreign recruits, including from countries on the World Health Organisation’s red list, while denying young British students training to become doctors and nurses.
‘The NHS will always be an international workforce, and that’s part of its strength.
“But the Conservatives’ approach is unfair to the countries they poach from and the British students who have been denied a great career in the NHS.
“Labour will nurture the homegrown talent the NHS needs, doubling medical training and training an additional 10,000 nurses and midwives, paid for by abolishing non-doms.”
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: ‘It is extremely promising to see a record number of nurses, midwives and nursing staff registered to practice in the UK, with the number of UK-trained home-grown staff increasing, alongside talent from the UK. abroad.
“We are on track to deliver an additional 50,000 nurses next year, with almost 43,000 more in the NHS compared to September 2019.
“Reducing waiting lists is one of the government’s top five priorities and we are committed to ensuring we have the staff to achieve it.
“We will soon publish a long-term workforce plan to go even further, including projections of the number of doctors, nurses and other professionals we will need in five, ten and fifteen years.”
Other health workers will stage new strikes in the ongoing pay dispute, they announced yesterday.
Members of Unite at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust are walking out next month.
The union said the strikes are part of its targeted approach to industrial action amid plans to escalate the dispute to try to pressure the government to reopen wage negotiations.
Unite members from across the Guy’s and St. Thomas workforce, including nurses and other frontline workers, will go on a 24-hour strike on June 1.
This will be followed by a strike by Unite members working at the Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, including paramedics and call handlers.
They will strike for up to seven hours from 2 p.m. on June 2.
The hospital doctors’ union, HCSA, also announced that its trainee doctors would take part in the 72-hour strike planned by the British Medical Association in June.
Young doctors in England will leave from 07:00 on June 14.