Thousands of NHS staff quit due to low pay and stress

Stressed out nurses and midwives are leaving their posts in droves, as recent figures highlight mounting pressures leading to workplace issues.

The recent report from the Nursing and Midwifery Council shows that the number of staff leaving the NHS has risen by 51% in just four years. Furthermore, 20% more nurses and midwives quit than joined the NHS between 2016 and 2017. In 2016, 1,783 left – this was followed by 3,264 in April and May of 2017.

When the employees were quizzed about why they were leaving, nearly half cited staffing levels and increasing workload as reasons – whilst one quarter claimed they had become disillusioned with patient care – The Metro reports. 

This had led unions to warn the NHS that heightened pressure on staff, as well as a one per cent pay cap, will force more workers out. Royal College of Nursing Chief Executive Janet Davies commented: “Patients are paying the price for the government’s failure to plan for the future and it looks set to get worse. The NHS will be further behind than ever from filling the 40,000 vacant nurse jobs in England alone.”