We're in freefall

Nurse recruitment crisis as applications for courses collapse. Union warns NHS future and safety of patients under threat

-  MARTIN BAGOT

THE nursing recruitment crisis could push an NHS already crippled by Tory cuts closer to collapse, union chief Pat Cullen warns.

And unless No10 urgently acts to reverse the growing catastrophe, patient safety will be further at risk.

UCAS data published today shows 31,100 people applied for nursing degree courses for 2024, down from 33,570 last year, 41,220 in 2022 and 46,040 in 2021.

Graduates often end up tens of thousands of pounds in debt and face poor pay and conditions on the wards.

NHS cuts and increased workloads has already led to an exodus of UK nurses from the NHS, leaving 42,000 vacancies in England alone.