14 | Nursing in Practice | Autumn 2022
COLUMNIST
Why on earth does the NHS let
experienced nurses walk away ?
There is much more HR teams and nurse managers can do to harness the skills of nurses now reaching retirement – letting them go is a scandal , argues Marilyn Eveleigh
Marilyn Eveleigh , nurse adviser and independent trainer in East Sussex
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Another nursing colleague has retired this week , after years as an NHS community trust Band 7 respiratory specialist . Natalie managed a multidisciplinary team , developing the COPD service and its reputation , growing and retaining the staff and grooming her successor . Like many nurses , she delayed her retirement but now wants a change of pace and responsibility while she enjoys her well-deserved pension . She informed her managers of her decision a year ago , confirming she would eagerly take on any short- or long-term roles that used her skills once she retired .
Natalie certainly has skills . She is a specialist clinician , a trainer , a successful and proven team leader with people and budgeting aptitude , and experience working in the community setting . As a nurse and midwife , she has worked within the NHS , outside it as a GP practice nurse and as a pharma company trainer , and has also developed healthcare services in rural Africa . She is brave , resourceful , experienced , flexible , and inspirational .
Yet the NHS let her walk away without a murmur , even though it is currently short of 47,000 registered nurses – an increase of 20 % in just three months . Like all NHS trusts , her employer has unfilled nurse vacancies exacerbating workforce pressures . This nurse doesn ’ t need recruiting , she was already employed and well known to the trust . Unbelievably , no one from HR or any nurse manager approached her to discuss retaining her skills , despite knowing she has the desire and energy to continue working . She was given an exit comments form to complete , and the chief nurse sent an email wishing her ‘ good luck ’.
It is shameful : healthcare is losing another valuable asset . The NHS is so desperate for nurses we are recruiting from overseas , often breaching the WHO ’ s ethical recruitment agreement , but I ’ m seriously alarmed we do not make equally robust efforts to retain our
With her transferable skills and clinical expertise , was there no role to offer her ?
existing home-grown nurses like Natalie . With her exemplary employment record , transferable skills and clinical expertise , was there genuinely no role to offer her , considering the approaching winter pressures , waiting lists and autumn Covid vaccination programme ? Certainly , she is bewildered when feedback indicates she is a skilled , dedicated nurse respected by management , colleagues , GPs and patients .
I know Natalie is actually disappointed not to have been asked to remain in some capacity : she thought her employer valued her more . Moreover , the HR department ’ s messages claim it wants to retain staff by offering flexible new ways of working , as required by the national NHS workforce retention plan . But there has been no such conversation . The NHS , specifically chief nurses and HR managers , must do better . Natalie is not the only nurse who has experienced the discord between this approach and the growing workforce crisis threatening the NHS . I bet you know a Natalie . As practice nurses , many of us will recognise the apparently uncaring and inflexible NHS attitude that made us feel we were a commodity and led us to choose practice nursing . Sadly , the NHS has allowed another experienced nurse to leave , taking much-needed skills with her . What a scandalous waste .