50,000 Nurses left NHS in 2004
Recruits to nursing 'must double' according to the Royal College of Nurses. Thousands of UK-trained NHS nurses are quitting every year despite efforts to boost recruitment, the union has warned. Reasons for leaving included violence by patients and rigid working hours, the Royal College of Nursing said.
If the trend continues, the number of annual new recruits will need to double to 66,000 by 2014, its report says.
About 50,000 UK trained nurses have left or retired in the past year, with just over 20,000 recruits joining and another 12,000 coming in from abroad.
The RCN report, entitled UK Nursing Labour Market Commentary 2004/05, was published before the college's annual congress in Harrogate.
The government has not only got to pay attention to bringing them in but keeping them said Dr Beverly Malone the RCN's general secretary.
She quoted data from the NHS National Workforce Projects team which said the number of nurses retiring each year would increase from 15,000 in 2004 to 25,000 in 2014.
In addition, the RCN estimated 35,000 nurses left the profession last year for other reasons, such as starting a family, and predicted that number would increase each year over the next decade.
The college said increasing numbers of nurses were leaving the profession because of inflexible working hours, fear of violence in the workplace and dissatisfaction with changes to the pension scheme.
It said only 20,588 UK trained nurses joined the register in 2004/05, with another 12,692 nurses from overseas.
As a result, the number entering the profession annually would need to almost double from just under 33,000 in 2004 - to reach 66,000 - by 2014, the RCN said.
Dr Beverly Malone, RCN general secretary, said nurses "are coming in the front door" but "falling out the back. The government has not only got to pay attention to bringing them in but keeping them in," she said.
The report said overseas recruitment has accounted for 45% of all NHS intake over the past four years.
But Dr Malone said the UK's overseas nurses could easily be snapped up by another country with staff shortages in the future.
"We have to pay more attention to students and issues such as bursaries," she said. She also called for more flexible working hours, better childcare and guaranteed pension arrangements.
A Labour Party spokesman defended the government's record saying there are 77,000 more working nurses now than there were in 1997. "There are also more nurses in training than ever before," he said.
But Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said nurses must be given more responsibility for the NHS to retain them.
Paul Burstow, Liberal Democrat health spokesman, said: "We will sustain extra investment in the NHS and work to improve morale by a smooth implementation of the new pay deal for nurses."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4472351.stm
If the trend continues, the number of annual new recruits will need to double to 66,000 by 2014, its report says.
About 50,000 UK trained nurses have left or retired in the past year, with just over 20,000 recruits joining and another 12,000 coming in from abroad.
The RCN report, entitled UK Nursing Labour Market Commentary 2004/05, was published before the college's annual congress in Harrogate.
The government has not only got to pay attention to bringing them in but keeping them said Dr Beverly Malone the RCN's general secretary.
She quoted data from the NHS National Workforce Projects team which said the number of nurses retiring each year would increase from 15,000 in 2004 to 25,000 in 2014.
In addition, the RCN estimated 35,000 nurses left the profession last year for other reasons, such as starting a family, and predicted that number would increase each year over the next decade.
The college said increasing numbers of nurses were leaving the profession because of inflexible working hours, fear of violence in the workplace and dissatisfaction with changes to the pension scheme.
It said only 20,588 UK trained nurses joined the register in 2004/05, with another 12,692 nurses from overseas.
As a result, the number entering the profession annually would need to almost double from just under 33,000 in 2004 - to reach 66,000 - by 2014, the RCN said.
Dr Beverly Malone, RCN general secretary, said nurses "are coming in the front door" but "falling out the back. The government has not only got to pay attention to bringing them in but keeping them in," she said.
The report said overseas recruitment has accounted for 45% of all NHS intake over the past four years.
But Dr Malone said the UK's overseas nurses could easily be snapped up by another country with staff shortages in the future.
"We have to pay more attention to students and issues such as bursaries," she said. She also called for more flexible working hours, better childcare and guaranteed pension arrangements.
A Labour Party spokesman defended the government's record saying there are 77,000 more working nurses now than there were in 1997. "There are also more nurses in training than ever before," he said.
But Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said nurses must be given more responsibility for the NHS to retain them.
Paul Burstow, Liberal Democrat health spokesman, said: "We will sustain extra investment in the NHS and work to improve morale by a smooth implementation of the new pay deal for nurses."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4472351.stm
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