The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Wales today published its annual report on the state of the nursing workforce in Wales, Nursing in Numbers 2023.
The report reveals that in 2022 NHS Wales has 2,717 registered nurse vacancies. This has risen from 1,719 in 2021.
The report also reveals that every week in NHS Wales nurses work an additional 69,877 hours over and above their normal hours. This is the equivalent of an extra 1,863 full-time nurses.
Helen Whyley, RCN Wales Director, says:
“The Welsh Government needs to up its investment in this essential profession which makes up 40% of the NHS Wales workforce. There are 2,717 registered nurse vacancies in the NHS alone and further shortages in the independent and social care sectors.
Nursing staff are exhausted, and recruitment hasn’t kept pace with patient need. From 2017 to 2022 the nursing and midwifery workforce grew just 7%. Over that time, the number of medical and dental professionals increased by 23%.
In its latest offer to RCN members, the Welsh Government committed itself to pay restoration and a host of non-pay elements covering flexible working, corridor care and more. Its promises showed ambition – and RCN members accepted the offer on those terms.
I’m calling on Eluned Morgan, Minister for Health and Social Services, not to take nursing for granted or allow the economic context to water down that ambition. Listen to nursing staff, safeguard patients, and make sure there is an NHS able to deliver care for future generations.”
Jackie Davies, RCN Wales Board Chair, said:
“The health of the nation depends on diverse nursing skills from health care support workers to specialist and consultant nurses. Occupational health nurses, school nurses, and health visitors – all types of nurses are needed. The Welsh government and NHS organisations urgently need to develop a post-registration nursing education strategy. Too often patients in Wales are let down by long waiting lists and unavailable services because nurses haven’t been provided with the opportunity to expand and deliver the skills that are needed.”
ENDS.
Notes to Editors
Nursing in Numbers is produced annually by RCN Wales. It provides an annual statistical overview of the strengths and vulnerabilities of the nursing workforce in Wales with recommendations to the Welsh government for improvement. This year’s report will be launched at an event at the Senedd in Cardiff this evening (26 September), where RCN members from across Wales will have the opportunity to speak with their local politicians about the issues highlighted in the report.
Nursing in Numbers 2023 is available to download here:
- Welsh: RCN Nursing in Numbers Welsh
- English: RCN Nursing in Numbers English
Top facts: Nursing in Numbers 2023
- The nursing and midwifery workforce is the largest occupational group in the NHS, making up over 40% of the entire NHS Wales workforce.
- In 2022 NHS Wales has 2,717 registered nurse vacancies. This has risen from 1,719 in 2021.
- NHS Wales spent £161.2 million on nursing and midwifery agency staff in 2022-23. This is an increase of 21% compared with 2021-22, during which health boards spent £133.4m – itself a 41% increase on the year before that.
- Every week in NHS Wales nurses work an additional 69,877 hours over and above their normal hours. This is the equivalent of an extra 1,863 full-time nurses.
In the last ten years the percentage of nursing staff who feel enthusiastic about their job has dropped by 19%. Those who feel they are too busy to provide the level of care they would like to, have grown by 9%. - In 2022, social care providers commissioned by local authorities employed just 1,057 registered nurses (based on a survey completed by 58% of commissioned providers).
- The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the voice of nursing across the UK and is the largest professional union of nursing staff in the world with over half a million members in the UK, including around 29,500 members in Wales. The RCN promotes the interests of nurses and patients on a wide range of issues and helps shape healthcare policy by working closely with the UK Government and other national and international institutions, trade unions, professional bodies, and voluntary organizations.
For more information, contact the RCN Wales press office at 02920 680 769 or email mediawales@rcn.org.uk.
