The number of nurses working in the healthcare sector has been rising steadily over time. This is a good development as it increases the number of healthcare providers who can assist patients with care and support.
But there have been concerns raised about ‘early withdrawals’—nurses who leave the field before retirement age. It is a contributing factor because it may result in a scarcity of qualified nurses, which could affect the standard of patient care.
To be able to practice nursing for as long as feasible, it is critical for healthcare organizations to address this issue and offer support. The healthcare sector can expand and give patients high-quality care if the appropriate safeguards are in place.
The analysis suggests that the number of nurses working in the UK has risen to a record level. 788,638 registered nurses, midwives, and nursing associates are thought to be employed in the UK at the moment, according to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). Despite a surge in the number of nurses abandoning their positions, the nursing authority issued a sharp warning.
At NMC, they held a leavers’ survey that pointed to “worrying findings” that showed many people left the field because of burnout or tiredness, worries about the standard of patients’ treatment, workload, or staffing levels.
The NMC was informed that just over half (52%) of those who left their jobs in 2022 did so “earlier than planned.”
The NMC publishes annual statistics on the number of nurses, midwives, and nursing associates who are authorized to practice in the UK every year. According to the statement, the figure for 2022–23 marks an increase of more than 30,000 from 2021–22.
Additional Read ICN Hot News: The Nursing Shortage is a Global Health Emergency.
In light of this, the regulator calculated that 1.2% of the population is currently registered to work as a nurse or midwife. There are also 41,716 midwives, 9,339 nursing associates who are licensed to practice in England, and 731,058 registered nurses out of this total. The NMC’s most recent report shows that a record 52,148 new employees joined in 2017; nearly half of them received their training abroad.
One in five nurses, midwives, and nursing associates who are permitted to practice in the UK, according to the NMC, are now educated by experts from around the world. Various demographics of nurses in the UK are also highlighted in the NMC report, including:
- Black and other minorities represent 28% of the total number of nurses on the registry.
- There were 167,002 nurses in the United States last year who are 56 years old or older, including professionals who are eligible for NHS retirement.
- Of the 87,000 nurses, midwives, and nursing associates on the register, men made up about 11% of the total.
According to the statement of Andrea Sutcliffe, chief executive and registrar at the NMC, “In a time of rising demand for health and care services, it is encouraging news that our register has rapidly grown to a record level, thanks to an increase in domestically educated joiners as well as the ongoing uptick in international recruitment.”
Although recruitment is still strong, there are clear signs that the pressures at work are pushing people out of the professions. Many are dropping off the register earlier than they had intended to because of burnout or exhaustion, concerns about the standard of care provided to patients, workload, and staffing levels.
He further stated that our knowledge could help nursing and midwifery leaders in the health and social care sectors concentrate on the appropriate problems in their retention efforts. To improve staff retention and well-being and to benefit all service users, addressing those issues must be a collaborative effort.
According to the statement of Mr. Arun Kumar Ojha, Direct of Dynamic Healthstaff, “as per the stats, thousands of nurses are leaving the profession early citing burnout, physical or mental health, and concerns about the quality of people’s care and the concern over the failure to retain the experienced staff is increasing day by day. And that’s where we are working towards helping the healthcare organizations with the best talents and making sure that every individual gets the job that they want in their lives.”
The foreign nationals make up half of all new hires, and it is obvious that the government’s failure to implement a plan to increase the domestic labor force is having an impact. Nurses who have received international education are an essential and well-regarded component of the NHS.
Additional Read: An Epic Breakthrough: Dynamic Health Staff Deploys More Than 700 Nurses to Birmingham, UK
The NHS is currently facing a serious problem to educate new midwives that will have a major impact in the future. Even if it is desirable, filling the gaps with globally trained midwives won’t be enough.
Additionally, we are aware that they need extra assistance to become used to practicing in a foreign nation. The workforce is still under pressure to make sure that the right kind of assistance is given in order to encourage a healthy work environment and worker retention.
Health and Social Care Secretary Mr. Steve Barclay stated: “It is very encouraging to see record numbers of nurses, midwives, and nursing associates registered to practice in the UK, with both domestically educated staff numbers and talent from abroad increasing.
There are institutes that are working towards producing more nurses every year. One of the government’s top five priorities is to reduce waiting lists, and they are committed to making sure they have the staff in place to do so.
According to the whole news, you can anticipate that there’s a huge shortage of nurses due to the early withdrawals. The government is trying its best to retain the nurses and provide them with proper care and benefits, resolving their issues.
Even after retaining the staff, they are still in need of a huge number of healthcare professionals, including registered nurses, midwives, and nurse associates. If you are someone looking to settle abroad as a nurse, we at Dynamic Health Staff can assist you start your career as a nurse in a new country as we have already deployed 20000+ nurses across the globe. Contact us at +919810017608 or email enquiry@dynamichealthstaff.com and send your CV and our experts will evaluate your profile and contact you with the best available opportunity.
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