London nurses warn of worsening staffing crisis - with low pay and burnout forcing frontline workers out of the capital
'Nearly 6 in 10' plan to leave in five years' time
There are warnings a shortfall of nurses in London is going to get worse - with increasing numbers planning to leave the profession following the pandemic.
The most recent figures show there are 8,444 vacancies for nurses in capital - equating to 11.4% of posts being unfilled.
Challenging working conditions on the frontline in the fight against covid have taken a toll on the workforce's mental health.
"There's a huge level of burnout," says Amy, a recently qualified nurse who works in east London, who says working on covid wards felt like she had to be 10 years qualified in just a few weeks.
"If you enter into a profession and you have this huge baptism of fire, you are running on adrenaline, and I think that not having had the correct support mechanisms in place and the time to process what was going on... I think that’ll be really interesting to see how that pans out in the next few months and whether people like myself decide to take some time out."
In March, the government offered NHS staff in England a 1% pay increase, which critics slammed as a real-terms pay-cut - due to rising rates of inflation.
"That was just a complete kick in the teeth after everything that’s happened," says Emma, a Londoner and mum-of-one, who's worked in the NHS in the capital for the last 12 years.
"Over the past few years nurse’s pay hasn’t been rising with inflation, so 1% is not going make up that amount what we’ve lost over the years. So for me it was hurtful."
Emma says she "would have left London a long time ago," if her son wasn't in school in the city.
"Most months, nearly my entire salary goes on my rent, and it’s very difficult to save. It's also very difficult to do extra shifts because you do need your rest, so I do feel like I’m working just to pay my rent really, without an end in sight, almost like a treadmill."
The Royal College of Nursing's recent poll found 57% of respondents said they plan to leave London in five years time - an increase of 17% compared to 2016.
RCN Regional Director for London, Lisa Elliott, says:
"The workforce crisis remains the biggest risk to London’s health and care system. Unless urgent steps are taken it will undermine any real efforts to tackle the stark health inequalities Londoners are experiencing.
"The nurses I speak to tell me they are exhausted from nursing through COVID-19 and many say they are thinking of leaving the profession. London’s health and care system cannot afford to lose any more nurses.
"We now need government and leaders in London, to step up and provide proper support for all those nursing staff who demonstrated such dedication over the last year as well as finally giving them the pay rise that properly reflects their skills and professionalism.
"This has to be matched with a long-term and coordinated workforce plan, with clear lines of responsibility, to grow the nursing workforce needed now and in the future to provide the care Londoners deserve.”
A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson says:
“We recognise the enormous pressure this pandemic has put on our nurses and we are committed to supporting their wellbeing. At the same time, we are providing a pay rise for NHS staff, when uplifts in the wider public sector have been paused, to acknowledge their extraordinary work through this challenging time.
“There are record numbers of nurses working in our NHS and applications to study nursing have risen by 34% this year alone. As we build back better we will support our NHS workforce to grow, with 50,000 more nurses by the end of this Parliament and all eligible nursing, midwifery and allied-health professional students can get at least £5,000 a year from the government.”