Nurses wages

The average nurse has seen a 14 per cent real terms pay cut since 2010, and earns £2,500 a year less than if wages had kept up with inflation, according to some estimates.

• Three out of every four nurses (70 per cent) said they were financially worse off than they were five years ago, and just 6 per cent thought their position had improved;
• One quarter (23 per cent) said they have taken on another job, such as working for a nursing agency or picking up extra shifts as NHS “bank staff” to boost their income;
• In all, just 41 per cent of nurses would recommend their career to others, the lowest level for a decade.