The NHS nursing workforce – have the floodgates opened?

The NHS nursing workforce – have the floodgates opened? Despite the constant pressures and chronic shortages, the number of nurses leaving the NHS had flatlined over recent years. Now our analysis of new data shows there has been a large increase in nurses leaving the NHS, and that this trend is being driven by younger workers.

The last year's data (June 2021 - June 2022) saw a 25 per cent increase in the number of NHS nurses leaving their role, with an additional 7,000 leaving compared to the previous year. The largest increase in numbers leaving was seen among the younger nurses, two thirds of leavers were under 45 years of age. The King's Fund