RCN: Government must tackle worsening staff supply problems in nursing

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has called on the government to heed the warnings of a new report suggesting current problems with the supply of nursing staff will only get worse.

A report from the Institute of Employment Studies commissioned by the Migration Advisory Committee has indicated that one in three nurses are due to retire in the next ten years, with a lack of homegrown nurses to fill the resulting gap.

Currently, EU nurses comprise 4.5 percent of the total nursing workforce, meaning the NHS is highly dependent on access to staff from countries like Spain, Portugal and Ireland. As such, the prospect of Brexit is causing considerable worry for the sector.

Specifically, uncertainty around the status of EU workers in the UK could lead to many European nurses returning home, while far fewer nurses from the EU will be able to come to work in Britain.

The RCN has accused the government of failing to take the steps needed to address these staffing problems in the past, with an ageing workforce and increasing demand exacerbating these issues.

RCN chief executive Janet Davies said: "Failing to invest in long-term workforce planning in the past is costing the NHS dearly now, and these mistakes must not be repeated."