The total number of nurses employed in the national health service in 1997 and 2008 are set out as follows
Headcount Full-time equivalent (FTE) 1997 300,467 246,011 2008 386,112 315,410
The number of nurses employed in the NHS in 2009 will be released in March 2010 upon publication of the NHS Workforce Census.
The total number of all qualified nurses (including practice nurses), midwives and health visitors has increased by 81,000 (25 per cent.) since 1997.