Dozens of NHS staff that worked across Oldham have left in the past year as an 'exodus' of healthcare professionals reached record-breaking highs.

A shortage of doctors, nurses and midwives in the NHS is crippling the healthcare service, according to the Health and Social Care Committee, while new stats show a record number of workers resigned from their posts last year.

According to NHS Digital, 149 workers in the former NHS Oldham Clinical Commissioning Group area left their job in the year to April 2023.

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This includes three doctors and 15 nurses and health visitors, as well as 30 scientific, therapeutic and technical staff and one support worker for doctors, nurses and midwives.

A whopping 71 people left their job in central functions and the Oldham also lost 19 senior managers and 11 managers from its workforce.

The figures are almost double the amount of Oldham staff who left the workforce 10 years ago, as stats by NHS Digital reveal a total of 75 employees, including five doctors and 20 nurses, left in 2011-12.

The new data comes as the number of NHS workers who left their jobs across the region within the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Royal Oldham Hospital, hit a 10-year high.

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Approximately 2,885 staff members left in 2022-23 - a 92 per cent increase on the 1,505 who left the year before, during the height of the pandemic.

This included 490 nurses and health visitors as well as 310 doctors - which is another stark increase of 82 per cent compared to 2020-21 when the Trust lost 170 doctors.

Across England, Trusts saw 222,690 workers leave their roles in the NHS between 2022-23, 63 per cent of whom resigned, while others left for other various reasons ranging from retirement to dismissal and reaching the end of their fixed contract.

Ellie Orton OBE, chief executive at NHS Charities Together, explained why some healthcare professionals have made the decision to leave.

Ms Orton said: "In addition to the aftermath of Covid-19 - including ever-increasing waitlists, long hours and public scrutiny - many roles can take a substantial physical and mental toll."

Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers part of the NHS Confederation also said staff who deferred retirement plans in the pandemic are "now choosing to enact their plans".

He also said there is "undoubtedly" a significant number of staff across the country who are moving between organisations "to pursue financial and career opportunities".

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the first ever NHS 'long term workforce plan' is backed by more than £2.4 billion in government funding.

The plan promises to deliver the biggest training expansion in NHS history and recruit and retain hundreds of thousands more staff over the next 15 years.

The spokesperson added: "We know that if we are to build a stronger, healthier NHS for the long-term with patients at its centre, it is vital to have the workforce to support it.

“There are record numbers of doctors working in the NHS with over 5,800 more compared to this time last year and we are on track to meet our commitment of 50,000 more nurses by the end of this Parliament, with over 44,000 more nurses in April 2023 compared with September 2019.”

Northern Care Alliance was contacted for comment.

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