THE NHS is facing a “perfect storm” of nurse shortages which will make planned government reforms “impossible,” the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) warns today.

The union said nurses are quitting in their thousands “due to burnout and exhaustion caused by low staffing levels, increasing patient need, and a lack of recognition from government.”

Around 350,000 nurses are employed under the NHS and the service has 46,800 vacancies of which more than 32,000 are in England.

The RCN said nurses’ average pay has fallen by 23 per cent in real terms since 2010-11.

“By the end of next parliament, more than 11,000 nurses will have quit the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register within the first 10 years of gaining their registration, equivalent to the entire district nurse, health visitor and school nurse workforce in England,” the RCN said.

The union said that in England, between 2021 and 2024, the number of people leaving within 10 years of registering increased by 43 per cent, while those leaving within five years rose by a “staggering” 67 per cent.

Nurses leaving cited “poor physical and mental health, burnout or exhaustion among key reasons for quitting.

“The government is planning to modernise the NHS and shift care into the community, requiring tens of thousands of additional nurses working in local communities outside hospitals,” the RCN said.

“However, by 2036-37 the estimated shortfall in community nurses is expected to be 37,000.”

The union said that without intervention, the figure was likely to rise.  

RCN general secretary and chief executive Professor Nicola Ranger said: “Nursing is an incredible career, and it should be one for life, but thousands are quitting early because they are burnt out, underpaid and demoralised.

“It is a perfect storm for ministers as thousands leave the profession early and student recruitment collapses.

“It’s also a heartbreaking state of affairs for those who want to spend their lives caring for others.

“Much more needs to be done to attract people into nursing and keep them once they’re there. If no action is taken, the shift from hospital to community will be impossible to deliver.”

She said Health Secretary Wes Streeting should “give nurses a reason to stay,” including better pay.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “This government has inherited a workforce that has been undervalued for years, leaving them burnt out and demoralised. That’s why we accepted the recommendations of the independent pay review bodies to award NHS staff with an above inflation pay rise.

“It will take time, but together we will recover and rebuild our NHS, so it is a service staff can be proud to work in once again.”