Responding to the latest NHS England vacancy statistics, RCN Director for England, Patricia Marquis, said:
“This is a startling reminder of the depth of the crisis in the nursing workforce.
“With vacant nursing posts hitting a record high over the last five years, the ability to give safe patient care remains at risk.
“Coupled with millions on waiting lists and thousands unnecessarily stuck in hospital beds, this is not a picture of a well-functioning health and care system.
“We urgently need to see a government workforce plan with the necessary funding or the numbers will continue to head in the wrong direction and the recovery of the NHS will remain an impossible task.”
Ends
Notes to Editors
The NHS England Vacancy Statistics, published today, shows a record number of nursing vacant posts in the NHS in England during the third quarter of the year 2022/23 (43,619). The third quarter of 2021/22 was the previous high at 39,721.
