Under-45s are driving the exodus of hospital nurses as analysis shows nearly 23,000 young staff quit this year
- Research found almost a quarter of all those who left were under 30
- Over 40,000 nurses left in past 12 months, study finds
- The King’s Fund added that there had been a 25% increase in the number of departures
Two-thirds of nurses who left the NHS in the past year were under 45, according to a damning think tank analysis.
Nearly 23,000 young nurses quit, up 26% from the previous year for this age group, the King’s Fund said.
He revealed that nearly a quarter of all those who left were under 30, showing that the exodus is not driven by retirement.
Last week, an analysis by the Nuffield Trust found that more than 40,000 nurses have left in the last year, or one in nine of the workforce.
Nearly 23,000 young nurses quit, up 26% from the previous year for this age group, the King’s Fund said
The King’s Fund added that from June 2021 to June this year there was a 25% increase in departures, with 7,000 more departures compared to the previous year.
According to the latest NHS staff survey, 52% felt unwell due to work-related stress and 40% felt exhausted.
Nurses are also angry over pay with the vote set to trigger a strike for the first time in the Royal College of Nursing’s 100-year history.
The Department of Health said there were more than 29,000 more nurses in the NHS than in September 2019.
According to the latest NHS staff survey, 52% felt unwell due to work-related stress and 40% felt exhausted.
The MRC, which represents more than 465,000 registered nurses, midwives, health care aides and student nurses, had called for a fully funded pay rise for nurses of 5% above inflation.
But in August the government announced that NHS staff in England would get a £1,400 raise across all pay brackets, or around 4% for an experienced nurse.
Voting will open on Thursday and close on November 2.
RCN Secretary and Chief Executive Pat Cullen said the new analysis “is even more compelling evidence of the workforce crisis facing patient safety”.
She said: ‘The last thing you need, when there is a record nearly 47,000 unfilled nursing vacancies in England, is for young nurses to leave soon after joining the NHS.
“What the UK government here desperately lacks, along with a plan, is a sense of urgency.
“This week, nurses are voting on strike and telling the Prime Minister she needs to deal with this – pay our profession fairly and give health and care services the investment the public expects.
“The exodus from the jobs we love cannot continue. Services are not secure.
