The NHS is one of the world's largest employers. As of July 2023, 142,930 doctors and 373,389 nursing staff (including health visitors) were in the NHS, out of a
of 1.45 million. The NHS spends roughly 45 percent of its
. However,
has increased significantly over the years, reaching over 66.2 billion British Pounds. Despite this, the NHS faces challenges in retaining and recruiting staff. Even the public sees a lack of staff as one of the
Key figures of the NHS staff shortage
In the financial 2020/2021, the
NHS doctor workforce revealed that nearly 20 thousand HCHS doctors had left the NHS, and according to the
NHS nurse workforce, over 38 thousand nurses left. As of the first quarter of 2023/2024, the NHS faces an estimated 126 thousand vacancies, from which about 43 thousand are among nurses. The
vacancy rate of the NHS workforce in England stood at 8.9 percent overall and over ten percent among nurses, yet much less among doctors. According to the
regional NHS staff vacancy rate, over recent years, London ranked consistently as the region with the highest vacancy rate.
How does the staff handle the workforce challenges?
In 2022, according to the NHS staff survey, most respondents felt they couldn't do their job correctly due to inadequate staffing. Furthermore, compared to the previous year, the
opinion of NHS staff on workforce shortages had worsened. When asked about the possibility of leaving their position, a third of the NHS staff respondents often consider leaving this organization. Although the
opinion of NHS staff on leaving their position was contrasted, according to the
most likely destinations of staff considering leaving their job, a significant share of NHS staff stated they would move to another position while remaining within the NHS.
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