UK
More proof if you needed it that NHS nurses and the RCN are right to be strikingAs the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) moves towards a 48-hour strike, new figures reveal what the union calls an “exodus” of young nurses from the NHS. The news is hardly surprising, though, given the RCN strikes have partly been over nurses’ appalling pay.
Nurses: everybody out – again…?
After strikes on 6 and 7 February, the RCN has now warned the Tory government that it’s moving to get nurses to walk out for a full 48 hours. This would include previously protected NHS areas, like A&E. As Nursing Notes wrote:
The move by the union is designed to break the deadlock and prevent months of disruption.
Previous strikes were over pay and conditions. As the Canary previously reported:
In 2010, the coalition government froze public sector pay for two years, then imposed a 1% fixed increase. This year, the Tories have capped NHS pay rises at 4% for most staff, while inflation is over 10%. The end result is that since 2010, the Tories have cut around £4,300 from nurses’ real-terms pay.
Now, a new report shows the direct impact of the government’s real-terms pay cuts – and it adds weight to nurses’ arguments over strikes.
RCN: an “exodus” of staff
The RCN has released its Valuing Nursing in the UK – Staffing for Safe and Effective Care report. The union said in a press release that the analysis looks at:
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the issues contributing to the poor retention of nursing staff, the reasons why they’re leaving, and calls for immediate action from the UK governments.
The union said:
The report shows that between 2018 and 2022, nearly 43,000 people aged 21 to 50 left the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register. It also finds the number of people leaving the NMC register increased by 9% from 2020-21 on the previous year and increased by a further 3% in 2022.
In the report, the RCN blames what it calls the “exodus” of nurses on years of government underfunding. This includes over a decade of real-terms pay cuts. The report highlights that nurses leaving are often younger ones, and the RCN is calling for an immediate, substantial pay rise for nursing staff. The report also looks at other reasons for nurses leaving the NHS. The union said these included:
Insufficient staffing to ensure patient safety.
Harassment and discrimination in the workplace.
A lack of career progression.
Unsafe working conditions.
A ‘crisis unfolding before our eyes’
RCN general secretary and chief executive Pat Cullen said:
It’s deeply worrying that nurses aren’t just choosing to retire early but are quitting the NHS and the profession entirely, when they’re only a few years into their career.
These findings speak volumes about the dire state that ministers have allowed nursing to fall into through years of underfunding and neglect. At the same time, recent… figures highlight that we aren’t only losing a record number of experienced nurses from the NHS, we’re also going to have less joining the profession. This can only mean even more vacancies in the future.
Cullen continued:
Negligence towards addressing vacancies is having a devastating impact on patient care and is why our members took to picket lines in England again last week. Ministers cannot blame the pandemic and other winter pressures for the crisis unfolding before our eyes – this has been a long time in the making yet the government has consistently ignored clear signs. They must offer fair pay rises to help stop the exodus.
It’s interesting that the RCN has warned the Tories of a 48-hour walk out at the same time as releasing its report – hitting the government with a double whammy, if you like. So now nurses must wait and see what the Tories do. However, what is clear is that the situation NHS staff are in has been unsustainable for a long time. Whether the Tories act or not remains to be seen.
Act ‘immediately’ on pay and conditions for nurses, government told
by Jo Faragher 13 Feb 2023
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has called for the government to take ‘immediate action’ to stop a worrying exodus of staff from the profession.
A new report published by the RCN today (13 February) reveals that between 2018 and 2022, almost 43,000 employees between the ages of 21 and 50 left the Nursing and Midwifery Council register, suggesting younger staff are quitting the profession.
The report, Valuing Nursing in the UK, showed an overall increase in people leaving the register of 9% from 2020-21 on the previous year, and a further increase of 3% in 2022.
Fewer nurses are joining the profession, furthermore. Last week, figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) showed that applications for nursing courses in England fell by 19% last year.
RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said the findings of the research “speak volumes about the dire state that ministers have allowed nursing to fall into through years of underfunding and neglect”.
Nursing profession
Nursing degree applications fall 19%
Nurses begin biggest strike in history
“We aren’t only losing a record number of experienced nurses from the NHS, we’re also going to have less joining the profession. This can only mean even more vacancies in the future.
“Negligence towards addressing vacancies is having a devastating impact on patient care and is why our members took to picket lines in England again last week.”
The RCN went ahead with strikes at 73 NHS trusts in England on 6-7 February, and dates for new, two-day strikes are expected to be announced in the coming days.
Cullen has indicated that new strikes could include members working in emergency departments, intensive care and cancer wards. The organisation has scaled back pay demands from 19% earlier this year, to indications it could accept a 7% increase – on a par with what was offered to nursing staff in Wales, where strikes have been suspended.
NHS bodies are now lobbying the government to open pay talks with the RCM to avert what they call an “alarming” escalation of strikes.
Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive at NHS Providers said: “The walkouts have led to 137,000 appointments being postponed so far, with nearly 50,000 of those being from Monday and Tuesday last week alone.
“A continuous 48-hour strike that includes staff from emergency departments, intensive care units and cancer care services would likely have the biggest impact on patients we’ve seen.”
In addition to improving pay, the RCN report calls for the government to deliver “fully funded health and care workforce plans”, to publish independent assessments of health and care workforce requirements in line, and to enshrine in law accountability for workforce planning in nursing.
In the report, nurses complain of insufficient staffing levels to ensure patient safety, harassment and discrimination in the workplace, a lack of career progression and unsafe working conditions.
Cullen added: “Ministers cannot blame the pandemic and other winter pressures for the crisis unfolding before our eyes – this has been a long time in the making yet the government has consistently ignored clear signs. They must offer fair pay rises to help stop the exodus.”
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JO FARAGHER
Jo Faragher has been an employment and business journalist for 20 years. She regularly contributes to Personnel Today and writes features for a number of national business and membership magazines. Jo is also the author of 'Good Work, Great Technology', published in 2022 by Clink Street Publishing, charting the relationship between effective workplace technology and productive and happy employees. She won the Willis Towers Watson HR journalist of the year award in 2015 and has been highly commended twice.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has called for the government to take ‘immediate action’ to stop a worrying exodus of staff from the profession.
A new report published by the RCN today (13 February) reveals that between 2018 and 2022, almost 43,000 employees between the ages of 21 and 50 left the Nursing and Midwifery Council register, suggesting younger staff are quitting the profession.
The report, Valuing Nursing in the UK, showed an overall increase in people leaving the register of 9% from 2020-21 on the previous year, and a further increase of 3% in 2022.
Fewer nurses are joining the profession, furthermore. Last week, figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) showed that applications for nursing courses in England fell by 19% last year.
RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said the findings of the research “speak volumes about the dire state that ministers have allowed nursing to fall into through years of underfunding and neglect”.
Nursing profession
Nursing degree applications fall 19%
Nurses begin biggest strike in history
“We aren’t only losing a record number of experienced nurses from the NHS, we’re also going to have less joining the profession. This can only mean even more vacancies in the future.
“Negligence towards addressing vacancies is having a devastating impact on patient care and is why our members took to picket lines in England again last week.”
The RCN went ahead with strikes at 73 NHS trusts in England on 6-7 February, and dates for new, two-day strikes are expected to be announced in the coming days.
Cullen has indicated that new strikes could include members working in emergency departments, intensive care and cancer wards. The organisation has scaled back pay demands from 19% earlier this year, to indications it could accept a 7% increase – on a par with what was offered to nursing staff in Wales, where strikes have been suspended.
NHS bodies are now lobbying the government to open pay talks with the RCM to avert what they call an “alarming” escalation of strikes.
Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive at NHS Providers said: “The walkouts have led to 137,000 appointments being postponed so far, with nearly 50,000 of those being from Monday and Tuesday last week alone.
“A continuous 48-hour strike that includes staff from emergency departments, intensive care units and cancer care services would likely have the biggest impact on patients we’ve seen.”
In addition to improving pay, the RCN report calls for the government to deliver “fully funded health and care workforce plans”, to publish independent assessments of health and care workforce requirements in line, and to enshrine in law accountability for workforce planning in nursing.
In the report, nurses complain of insufficient staffing levels to ensure patient safety, harassment and discrimination in the workplace, a lack of career progression and unsafe working conditions.
Cullen added: “Ministers cannot blame the pandemic and other winter pressures for the crisis unfolding before our eyes – this has been a long time in the making yet the government has consistently ignored clear signs. They must offer fair pay rises to help stop the exodus.”
HR opportunities in Healthcare on Personnel Today
Browse more HR opportunities in healthcare
JO FARAGHER
Jo Faragher has been an employment and business journalist for 20 years. She regularly contributes to Personnel Today and writes features for a number of national business and membership magazines. Jo is also the author of 'Good Work, Great Technology', published in 2022 by Clink Street Publishing, charting the relationship between effective workplace technology and productive and happy employees. She won the Willis Towers Watson HR journalist of the year award in 2015 and has been highly commended twice.
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