Government figures appear to demonstrate that nurse numbers could decline by over 13,000 over the next five years, the Conservative Party have announced.

The party stated that recent Department of Health statistics reveal that 16,262 graduate nursing staff would join the NHS this year, whilst 19,056 would leave. This would result in a shortfall of 2,794 nurses.

If such losses were to occur over the following four years, the total nursing profession including staff nurses and nurse manager jobs, would fall from 329,372 in 2008, to 315,963 by 2014. This would leave a large shortfall and demand in nursing jobs, which could lead to expensive incentive programmes.

The Nursing Times reported that Shadow Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley stated that: ''Conservatives are committed to recruiting additional health visitors and to ensuring that efficiency savings in the NHS and cuts in bureaucracy are invested back into frontline services''.

Meanwhile, The Royal College of Nursing commented that the government needed to look at the shortfalls as a matter of extreme importance. Peter Carter, RCN Chief Executive and General Secretary, announced: ''As well as keeping trained and experienced staff in the profession and making it easier for those who have left to return, we must make sure that nursing is an attractive profession''.

Carter further commented by saying that ''the RCN has been saying for some time that with up to 200,000 nurses due to retire in the next decade, there is a serious crisis looming, which any government must address as a matter of urgency''.

These announcements come in the wake of plans to introduce a degree only route to the profession, causing much speculation from commentators that this will only seek to increase the shortfall.