MORE work is needed to stem the number of nurses quitting the profession, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) warned today, as figures revealed a “deeply alarming” retention crisis.

The latest Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) annual report on its register of nurses, midwives and nursing associates in Britain shows 27,168 staff left the profession between April 2023 and March 2024.

Though a slight decrease from the previous 12 months, 20.3 per cent of the total — 5,508 — did so within the first 10 years compared with 18.8 per cent in 2020-21, and “reflects a rise over the last three years,” according to the report.