NHS: Doctors and Nurses
(asked on 4th September 2023) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) doctors, and (2) nurses, left the NHS in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021, and (d) 2022.
The table below shows the published data on the leaver rates as a percentage and the number of doctors and nurses & health visitors who have left active service in National Health Service trusts and core organisations, for each annual period 2019 to 2022.
Period | Doctors | Nurses & Health Visitors |
31 December 2018 to 31 December 2019 | 17,863 (14.7%) | 33,188 (10.2%) |
31 December 2019 to 31 December 2020 | 17,045 (13.3%) | 30,392 (9.0%) |
31 December 2020 to 31 December 2021 | 19,156 (14.4%) | 36,689 (10.6%) |
31 December 2021 to 31 December 2022 | 21,078 (15.2%) | 41,121 (11.4%) |
Source: NHS England Workforce Statistics
The latest figures published by NHS England for the year to March 2023 show leaver rates are falling, and currently stand at 15.0% for doctors and 10.9% for nurses and health Visitors. Leaver’s data is based on headcount and shows staff leaving active service. This would include those going on maternity leave or career breaks, as well as those leaving NHS trusts and core organisations, including integrated care boards, to work in another part of the health and social care sector, including social care or primary care. The number of doctors leaving includes doctors in training grades, of whom some will be rotating out of NHS trusts to other parts of the health and social care sector as part of planned programmes of training.