NMC: More nurses and midwives leaving the sector than joining

The number of nurses and midwives registered to work in the UK has started to fall due to the quantity of staff departing the profession.

This is according to the latest data from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), showing that between 2016 and 2017, 20 percent more people left the NMC register than those joining it – the first time this has happened in recent history.

Although much focus has been placed on the impact that Brexit could have on the number of EU nurses coming to work in the NHS, the NMC data showed that it was mainly UK nurses and midwives who are leaving the register.

Additionally, the average age of those leaving the register for reasons other than retirement has fallen from 55 years in 2013 to 51 in 2017, suggesting that younger people are becoming increasingly keen to leave the sector.

Jackie Smith, the NMC's chief executive and registrar, said: "At a time of increased pressure on the healthcare workforce to deliver quality patient care, we hope our data will provide evidence to support government and employers to look in detail at how they can reverse this trend."

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