More nurses quitting – and joining – the Welsh NHS
MARION McMULLEN LOOKS AT THE RETURN OF PUNK ANTHEM, GOD SAVE THE QUEEN, 45 YEARS AFTER ITS CREATORS SHOCKED THE UK
THE number of Welsh nurses and midwives leaving the NHS is on the rise, new figures have revealed.
A total of 1,401 professionals living in Wales left the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register in 2021-2022 – 13% more than in the previous 12 months and the highest number since 2018-19.
While retirement was the biggest overall reason, more than a third (35%) of staff in Wales said the Covid pandemic had influenced their decision to leave, and 18% cited “too much pressure” as one of their top three reasons for leaving.
Those in the 41-55 age bracket saw the biggest fall in registrations in Wales, down from 15,443 in 2020-21 to 15,160 in 2021-22.
Professor Geraldine Walters, NMC executive director of professional practice and lead director for Wales, said: “It’s important to note the increase in people leaving the register compared to last year, which is something we’re seeing in all four countries of the UK. Many people said the pandemic and pressure were factors, which need to be considered in workforce retention plans.”
While the number of people leaving the register increased, thankfully so did the number of people joining for the first time. In total there were 1,600 joiners in Wales – a 10% rise from the 1,457 recorded in Wales the previous year.
Despite the higher than average amount of leavers, the total number of nursing and midwifery professionals with registered addresses in Wales grew from 37,446 to 38,268 between April 2021 and March 2022.
Meanwhile the number of people on the register in Wales who trained in a European country has fallen by 4.2% percent to 571. Romania remains by far the most frequent EU/ EEA country of training (239), followed by Poland (60), Spain (58), Italy (54) and Portugal (29).
The number of people on the register in Wales who trained outside Europe has risen by 14.3% to 2,794. There are now 1,265 people who trained in the Philippines, by some way the most of any nation, and 946 people who trained in India. Nigeria (96), South Africa (87), and Zimbabwe (81) made up the rest of the top five.
Commenting on the data, Helen Whyley, director of the Royal College of Nursing in Wales, said: “In 2021– 2022 1,401 people left the register in Wales. The 12.7% increase on the previous year is indicative of the overwhelming pressures on nurses, pushing many to leave the profession, and whilst we welcome the slight increase in those joining the register, this is not enough to cover the shortages of nursing staff.
“We need more nurses in Wales to ensure safe patient care. The Welsh Government must invest in student nurses, along with fair pay for nursing and continuing professional development, to ensure we retain the nurses we have, and to encourage more to choose nursing as a profession.”
Across the whole of the UK it was a similar picture in terms of joiners and leavers.
On March 31, 2022, there were 758,303 professionals on the NMC register, which is 26,403 more than there were a year earlier and is the highest level it has ever been. However, 27,133 professionals came off the NMC register in 2021-2022.
BUNTING, street parties and punk rock. The Sex Pistols marked the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth in 1977 with the release of their anti-authority hit God Save The Queen... and the BBC promptly banned it.
Their colourful manager Malcolm McLaren once advised: “Be childish. Be irresponsible. Be disrespectful. Be everything this society hates.”
Stores like WH Smith and Woolworths also refused to sell the single which shocked parents nationwide with singer Johnny “Rotten” Lydon screaming out the refrain “No future, no future, no future for you”.
The controversial record still reached number two in the UK singles chart despite the lack of airplay and it is the only time in chart history that a track was listed with a blank title to avoid offence.
The subversive take on the national anthem was kept from the top spot by Rod Stewart’s far more sedate – and in the circumstances somewhat ironic – I Don’t Want To Talk About It.
To combat the media blackout the band promoted the record on their own jubilee boat trip along the Thames which ended in their arrest when they tried to play the track on the River Thames outside Westminster Palace.
The promotional stunt by Malcolm McLaren was described as an attempt to circumvent a “ban” by playing on the river instead of setting foot on ground, but the performance never took place as they were thwarted by the authorities.
The furore saw the group dropped by their record label A&M and the band released the single through Virgin after signing a new deal.
This prompted the destruction of 25,000 unreleased copies of the song. Only a handful of copies of the original A&M pressings remain, with one selling for £13,000 in 2019. The punk rock anthem has now been re-issued 45 years later to mark the Queen’s upcoming Platinum Jubilee with 4,000 copies being re-released through Virgin, and 1,977 copies of the rare A&M version also being made available. The band were described in newspapers as “the group you love to hate” after they swore live on TV during an interview with Bill Grundy. They also tried to pour a bottle of whisky over the heads of newspaper photographers at a press conference to sign a new recording contract outside Buckingham Palace in 1977. Sid Vicious was present having replaced Glen Matlock. Sid died at the age of 21 in 1979.
John Lydon has said he is always surprised that people are shocked by what he does. “I just said it as I feel it and see it and understand it, and that is about it really,” he said. “I don’t involve any personal agendas so my motivation would never be to shock.”
When God Save The Queen was released, the monarch was 51. The year 1977 also saw Star Wars breaking cinema box office records, the death of Elvis Presley and Red Rum winning the Grand National for a record third time.
Queen Elizabeth’s first jubilee saw her travel 56,000 miles visiting 36 countries in more than 10 weeks to mark her 25 years on the throne. Street parties were held across the country and beacons were lit in her honour.
The Union Jacks flew, but the Sex Pistols T-shirt was also seen widely across the country as it was snapped up by young punks.
Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle’s new six-part TV series about the Sex Pistols also starts on Disney+ on May 31. Pistol is based on guitarist Steve Jones’ memoir, Lonely Boy: Tales From A Sex Pistol and features Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Malcolm McLaren and Game Of Thrones star Maisie Williams as punk model Jordan.
Steve Jones is played by Toby Wallace, John Lydon by Anson Boon and Louis Partridge is bassist Sid Vicious. Talulah Riley, best known for roles in St Trinian’s and Westworld, portrays punk fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood.
Last year the members of the Sex Pistols were embroiled in a High Court legal battle over the punk band’s songs being used in the television series and ex-drummer Paul Cook and guitarist Steve Jones successfully sued John Lydon to allow their music to be used in the TV drama.
Pistol will explore the rise of the punk band and Danny Boyle says: “Imagine breaking into the world of The Crown and Downton Abbey with your mates and screaming your songs and your fury at all they represent. This is the moment British society and culture changed forever.
“It is the detonation point for British street culture… where ordinary young people had the stage and vented their fury and their fashion, and everyone had to watch and listen, and everyone feared them or followed them. The Sex Pistols.”
Be irresponsible. Be disrespectful. Be everything this society hates.”
Malcolm McLaren’s
credo