Retaining experience in nursing workforce

Faced with an ageing workforce, NHS employers will need to examine their working environment and workers in a new light.

 We are living in an era where the nursing workforce are increasingly thinking of reducing their hours and re-evaluating their priorities in life, many with retirement in mind. One third of nurses on the UK register are aged 50 and older. The large scale recruitment of international, and mostly younger nurses over the last two decades, helped to stave off the immediate impact. However, the overall effect can no longer be avoided and will become notably more pronounced in the next few years. If current levels of productivity and pensions are to be maintained, more people will have to work for longer. So what should the NHS and major employers be doing to retain the most experienced workers? In 2010, older workers (55-64) will out number younger workers (20-29) for the first time. Many nurses in the older cohort are able to retire with full rights and benefits at the age of 60 years. In UK, where the majority of the population will soon be of a retirement age, with life span increasing, healthcare services for that group will also need to expand.1 One wonders who will be there to deliver the service? Age legislation makes age prejudice, ageism and employment decisions based on age unacceptable and unlawful.2 Demographic change will require thoughtful solutions to staff shortages, innovative approaches to attracting people to the healthcare sector for second (or third) careers and real flexibility in employment and redeployment options to ensure the retention of talented and experienced workers.3 USA ratios, reported by Walker 2007,4 were one person over 65 years for every eight aged 15-64 of the population in 1950. That ratio is projected to increase to one person over 65 years for every three people aged 16-64 by 2050. If such figures are reflected in the UK, this will result not only in a huge increase in demand for healthcare services, delivered by far fewer workers, but also healthcare finance supported by a greatly reduced number of taxpayers. It must, therefore, be of great interest to policymakers and workforce planners to have the correct strategic plans in place to manage the exit of experienced workers in public services. Hospitals and all employers in NHS will need to examine their working environment and workers in a new light.

Factors influencing older nurses’ employment decisions