Poor health driving nurses away, finds NMC

More than one in 10 professionals who have left the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register over the last year said their physical or mental health was the main trigger, according to latest figures.

Of those, 70% of nursing and midwifery professionals said their role had a ‘negative impact’ on their physical health and 84% said it had worsened their mental health.

A further 6% gave burnout and exhaustion as the main reason for leaving the register, with 3% citing bullying, harassment, or discrimination as their main motivation to go. 

Latest data published by the NMC today shows that some 28,789 professionals left the register in the 12 months to 31 March 2025.

Retirement continues to be the top reason why people leave the register (46%), according to its leavers survey of 6,732 respondents.

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But concerningly, the second-most common reason was people’s health.

For the third consecutive year, 13% of respondents from across the UK said bad physical or mental health was the main trigger for them to leave the NMC register.

Gen Z and millennial respondents were most likely to leave due to their mental health while senior nurses, those later in their career, and disabled, female or black registrants were more likely to leave due to physical health concerns.

Gen Z, millennial and recent joiner respondents also report ‘often or always’ feeling worn out, exhausted and tired – with many saying they ‘never or seldom’ have energy for friends and family.

In total, 84% of leavers who reported poor health as a reason forcing them to leave said their role as a nurse, nursing associate or midwife had a ‘negative impact’ on their mental health.

This includes over 60% who said this negative impact was ‘strong’.

Dr Helen Anderson, registered nurse and research fellow at the University of York, said it was ‘unsurprising’ that poor health is a key factor in undermining nurse attrition. 

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‘Unless the wellbeing needs of nurses and midwives are adequately and promptly addressed, it is likely the profession will continue to lose skilled and knowledgeable professionals,’ she added. 

Leaving the register earlier than planned

In line with last previous years, almost half (47%) of professionals who left the register in 2024/25 did so earlier than planned, compared to 33% who left as planned.

Of those who left the register earlier than they planned, 54% left between one and four years earlier.

Over a third (36%) of those who left the NMC register moved into a job outside of the health and social care sector.

The Royal College of Nursing chief nursing officer, Lynn Woolsey, said the findings are ‘worrying’ given the scale of vacancies in the NHS and social care.

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‘It’s a damning indictment of life for a nurse in the UK that physical and mental health problems are among the biggest drivers of people quitting, whilst just one in five would recommend nursing as a career.

‘Delivering better pay and improving working conditions must be urgent priorities for ministers,’ she warned.

In its annual registration data, published alongside the leavers survey, the NMC revealed that international recruitment had fallen by almost a third (30.2%) between April 2024 and March 2025.