NURSES revealed today that there are over 1,400 registered vacancies across the NHS in Wales despite recruitment freezes.

The Royal College of Nursing Wales has released its 2025 Nursing in Numbers (NiN) report.

The nurses’ union says that this year’s findings reveal at least 1,481 registered nurse vacancies in the NHS in Wales.

RCN Wales said that despite this workforce shortage, some health boards are freezing vacancies and even graduating student nurses are finding it difficult to secure full-time substantive posts.

RCN Wales’ Helen Whyley said: “These figures are a stark warning that our nursing workforce is still under intolerable strain and still not getting the respect it deserves.

“With at least 1,481 nurse vacancies, skyrocketing agency fees, and relentless unpaid overtime, this situation is unsustainable.”

The union pointed out that the vacancies increase NHS Wales’s reliance on temporary agency staff, which cost £88.7 million in 2024-25.

RCN Wales said this is enough to pay the salaries of 2,815 full-time newly registered nurses.

“Patients in Wales deserve safe, consistent care and our brilliant nursing workforce deserves fair pay, safe staffing levels and protection from abuse,” Ms Whyley said.

“The Welsh government and NHS Wales must take the recommendations we’ve set out in our report and act on them now to keep nursing staff in Wales and restore public confidence in our services.”

Plaid Cymru health spokesman Mabon ap Gwynfor said: “These statistics should shock this Labour Welsh government into action.

“This report reinforces the fact that Labour has failed to get to grips with the recruitment and retention crisis in our NHS.”

The Welsh government says: “We greatly value the nursing and midwifery workforce in Wales and the vital work they do.

“This year we are investing £294m on health professional education and training.

“The number of nurses working in NHS Wales is now at record levels, reflecting our continued investment in the workforce. We are also seeing a reduction in agency spend on nursing, and vacancy rates are falling.”