Earlier this month, a warning was issued regarding what has been described as a ‘critical shortage’ of nurses in London as it emerged that more than 10,000 relevant nursing posts were unfilled. A survey carried out by the Royal College of Nursing found that the vacancy rate had increased from 14% to 17% as the number of empty posts rose from 8,000 to 10,140.
These results have coincided with a recent march in which thousands of student nurses marched on Downing Street to protest at cuts to bursaries and newly introduced tuition fees starting from next August that could leave them in more than £50,000 worth of debt.
Nursing and Midwifery students, as it stands, do not pay tuition fees and receive financial support in the form of a grant of up to £1000 and a bursary of up to £3,191 to help with the cost of living.
The failure to fill nursing roles has without doubt led to greater cost for the NHS, with the cost of overtime for out of hours staff having to fill the void left by the many unfilled vacancies.
How are the Vacancies Spread?
The available vacancies are currently spread far and wide throughout the London area as seen below.
- London North West Healthcare (811 vacant posts)
- South West London Mental Health (159 vacant posts)
- South London and Maudsley (440 vacant posts)
- Hounslow & Richmond Community Health (79 vacant posts)
- Epsom & St Helier (399 vacant posts)
- West London Mental Health (242 vacant posts)
- Croydon Health (258 vacant posts)
- Central London Community Healthcare (237 vacant posts)
- Kingston (192 vacant posts)
- Barts Health (1,044 vacant posts)
Bernell Bussue, the RCN London Regional Director said, “London faces a critical shortage of registered nursing staff…the ongoing pay freeze imposed by the Government means that nursing staff increasingly can’t afford to live and work in London. Pay has run 10 per cent below inflation since 2010.”
Visitors to the Seven Resourcing website, interested in Nursing Care roles can upload their CV here.
If you would like to discuss Nursing Care roles, get in touch with the Seven Resourcing team today. We have an entire team dedicated to roles in Nursing, who you can contact via phone, on 0333 200 5424 or using our contact form.
