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UNION leaders have demanded that the Scottish government takes action to halt an exodus of nursing staff following new figures which reveal a 13 per cent jump in those leaving the profession.
A total of 2,690 nurses in Scotland left in the 12 months to September 2022, coming off the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register.
This was 314 more than in the previous 12 months, with Scotland seeing a higher increase in nurses leaving the profession than the 7 per cent rise recorded in Wales, or the 4 per cent rise in England.
RCN Scotland director Colin Poolman said the number of nurses quitting showed the “dire state that ministers have allowed nursing to fall into.”
He called on the Scottish government to deliver a “fair pay” settlement for nurses and safe staffing levels.
He also demanded a nursing retention strategy that “sets out a plan to tackle the exodus of nursing staff from our profession.”
The Scottish government is currently in talks with the RCN and other unions representing NHS staff over a pay settlement for 2023-24.
