Nurse graduates fail to find jobs

Figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats show there has been an 80% rise in the number of nurses out of work six months after qualifying.

In 2005/06, 770 nursing and midwifery graduates did not have a NHS post compared with just over 400 in 2002/03, latest figures show.

The government said staffing levels were determined by local needs.

Almost 500 nurses and midwives had found work outside the NHS or in other healthcare work, the figures showed.

"With 180,000 nurses due to retire in the next decade and immigration restrictions on overseas nurses in place, the NHS simply cannot afford to lose new blood"
Dr Peter Carter, Royal College of Nursing

It means the number working in other healthcare-related professions six months after graduating has more than doubled in the last three years.

The figures were based on more than 11,000 graduates in 2005/06 up from around 9,000 in 2002/03.

'Waste'

Lib Dem health secretary, Norman Lamb said it was a "disgraceful waste of human talent".

"It's no surprise that so many committed healthcare professionals have lost faith in the way Labour has run the NHS.

"Having trained for years at taxpayers' expense, many nurses and midwives are now unable to find jobs.

"This will have a terrible effect on already crumbling staff morale and send a worrying signal to patients at a time when the workload on many wards remains high."

He called for the government to put together a long-term workforce strategy.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health said: "It is for local NHS organisations to determine the number of nurses that they need to employ to meet the needs of their local populations.

"But the Department is working with strategic health authorities and trade unions to do all we can to maximise employment opportunities for newly qualified nurses."

Dr Peter Carter from the Royal College of Nursing said: "With 180,000 nurses due to retire in the next decade and immigration restrictions on overseas nurses in place, the NHS simply cannot afford to lose new blood.

"Yo-yo recruitment policies are no substitute for sound workforce planning."

Louise Silverton, deputy general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives, said: "It is a scandal that when there is a shortage of midwives that taxpayers are spending £45,000 to train each one, only to find too many of them offered only part-time work or unable to finds a job when they qualify.

"I hope the government's announcement of 4,000 extra midwives over the next four years will mean an end to this waste, and that these midwives can find a job and start caring for women and their babies."

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