Commenting on the Nursing and
Midwifery Council's (NMC) latest registration figures released
today, Nuffield Trust Senior Fellow Dr Billy Palmer
said:
“Continued growth across these crucial
professions is welcome. However, the UK's nursing and midwifery
workforce is increasingly inexperienced and facing deeply
worrying shortages in important areas, with
learning disability nursing numbers
still lower than five years ago.
“Concerningly, the number of nurses
and midwives with over 10 years' experience is falling, and 28%
of staff have five years' experience or less – echoing similar
trends seen in the latest registration data for doctors.
This shift to less experienced staff
may affect productivity and put a strain on those who train,
mentor and supervise them.
“Today's NMC figures are ultimately a
chronic symptom of a domestic clinical education system that is
not fit for purpose. We have warned the
NHS is failing to attract homegrown
nurses, with new domestic
joiners having previously fallen by more than 6,000 over two
years. Now, the heavy reliance on overseas joiners continues,
with nearly half of new nursing and midwifery registrants
educated outside of the UK.
“Policymakers and educational leaders
cannot stay blind to these trends. They need to be bold –
considering measures like student loan forgiveness schemes – to
ensure UK nursing and midwifery has enough domestically trained,
experienced staff to sustain the NHS workforce for the
future.”
