The National Health Service (NHS) is facing a deepening staffing crisis as a growing number of foreign-born nurses leave the United Kingdom for better-paying jobs and working conditions in other countries.
The number of nurses leaving the UK has quadrupled since before the pandemic and doubled in just a single year, according to a recent report by the Health Foundation.
The report revealed a surge in nurses departing the NHS, with the number of UK-registered nurses moving abroad doubling to 12,400 in 2022–23 compared to the previous year.
Many of those leaving, about 8,680, qualified as nurses outside the UK or EU, often in countries like India or the Philippines.
The report also identifies the United States, New Zealand, and Australia as the primary destinations for departing nurses, with these countries offering salaries that can be nearly double those in the UK.
OECD data shows that a nurse in the UK earns an average of $46,000 annually, significantly less than their counterparts in Australia ($71,000), New Zealand ($57,000), and the US ($84,900).
Experts warn that the NHS, already struggling with a shortage of 40,000 nurses, is losing the global recruitment race.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) blames the growing exodus on a continued decline in salary the profession has suffered since 2010.
“It is deeply worrying to see more and more overseas nurses choosing to leave the UK. The recruitment of domestic nurses is collapsing and services are gripped by workforce shortages,” stated Prof. Pat Cullen, RCN’s chief executive.
“With patient needs already going unmet, the prospect of losing more of our international colleagues doesn’t bear thinking about.
“The reality is that sustained attacks on pay and poor working conditions are leaving the UK’s healthcare services unable to compete on the world stage.
“International nurses, like all nurses, have every right to choose to work in countries that better value their skills and expertise. It’s no joke that nurse pay in the UK is joint bottom of 35 OECD countries.”
However, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) disputes the Health Foundation’s figures, claiming that its own data showed that fewer nurses leaving the NHS.
“The latest Nursing and Midwifery Council data showed fewer nurses – those trained in the UK and outside it – leaving the NHS,” a spokesperson said.
“We hugely value the care provided by our fantastic nurses, which is why we negotiated a fair and reasonable deal with the trade unions, delivering a 5% pay rise, two additional one-off bonuses equivalent to 6% of pay and a series of non-pay measures to support the NHS workforce [in England].
“We also delivered on our commitment to recruit an additional 50,000 NHS nurses six months early, and the first-ever long-term workforce plan – backed by over £2.4bn of government funding – will provide the biggest training expansion in NHS history, ensuring that up to 130,000 fewer staff, including nurses, will leave the NHS over the next 15 years.”
