Record number of workers resign at Wirral University Teaching Hospital

Experts suggest the aftermath of the pandemic, and an increase in people taking deferred retirement may be contributing to the rise.

NHS Digital figures show around 660 people resigned from their posts at Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, with 125 nurses and health visitors choosing to leave their jobs in the year to March.

In total, approximately 985 staff members left their jobs in 2022-23, an 18% increase on the 835 who left in 2020-21, during the height of the pandemic.

The figures cover medical and administration staff and are rounded to the nearest five. A resignation does not necessarily mean the staff member has left the NHS altogether, as the numbers also include any promotions and relocations.

In the last year, approximately 110 doctors left their roles at Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, a decrease of 29% compared to 2020-21, when 155 left.

What did the hospital say?

A Wirral University Teaching Hospital spokesperson said: "We are consistently an employer of choice and our recruitment campaigns have been very successful. We regularly see hundreds of people at our recruitment open days -a good indication that people see the Trust as an attractive place to work.

"Keeping our valued NHS staff is very important to us and we work hard to develop and to retain our staff. We recently launched a retention group, working in partnership with our Staff Side trade union colleagues and our Staff Networks on our approaches to retaining staff, and we are very pleased with our early successes.

"Year on year staff turnover figures in isolation do not reflect the full picture, as they fluctuate and include the number of staff set to retire in a given year, which varies from year to year. The figures also include people on fixed term contracts and a cohort of junior doctors for whom rotating to different NHS employers and trusts is part of their training.

"In terms of managing and monitoring our performance, we look at turnover each month and report this to our Board at its public meeting. We are pleased to report that the staff monthly rolling average turnover rate is currently in line with the Trust target for the second consecutive month."

Trusts across England saw 222,690 workers leaving their roles in the NHS between 2022-23, 63% of whom resigned.

The remainder left for other reasons, such as retirement, dismissal or reaching the end of their fixed contract.

These figures emerge as the NHS enters its 75th year and is facing intense pressure due to record demand for care.