Although there are now 30,000 more nurses working in the UK than ever before, industry experts worry that many are quitting their jobs too soon due to stress or weariness. According to recent data, the number of nurses employed in the UK has reached a record high. In the UK, there are now 788,638 registered nurses, midwives, and nursing associates, or around 1.2% of the population. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), which published the statistics, expressed appreciation for the increase of more than 30,000 in a year but also issued a stern caution about the amount of people leaving the field too soon. The NMC cited "worrying findings" from its leavers' survey that show many professionals left the field owing to stress or tiredness, worries about the standard of care provided to patients, workload, or staffing levels. 52% of those who left their jobs in 2022 said they did so "earlier than planned," according to the NMC. (Stock Image) According to the Nursing and Midwifery Council, there are now 788,638 nurses, midwives, and nursing associates in the country, or about 1.2% of the total population. The Royal College of Nursing said the NHS has grown "over-reliant" on unsustainable international recruiting after it was found that more than half of new registrants were trained abroad. As it pursues a fresh "double-digit" wage agreement from ministers, the union has started polling its almost 300,000 members on further strike action. "With half of all new hires coming from abroad, it is clear that the government's failure to deliver a domestic workforce plan is hitting home," RCN Chief Executive Pat Cullen said. "While nurses with international education are an important and valued component of the NHS, the overreliance on staff from abroad, including those nations with their own shortages, is not sustainable." According to the NMC's most recent report, there were a record 52,148 new hires last year, and nearly half of them received their training abroad. According to the NMC, one in five nurses, midwives and nursing associates who are authorised to practise in the UK have received their education abroad. Labour's shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting MP, charged that the government was "poaching staff" from nations with their own labour shortages and promised to "foster the homegrown talent the NHS needs... paid for by abolishing non-doms." 'We're on target to provide 50,000 more nurses by next year, with over 43,000 more working in the NHS compared to September 2019,' said Steve Barclay, secretary of health.