Almost 5,000 nurses have left the NHS since May 2010 while the number of doctors has risen by 3,700, according to official figures released on Tuesday.

New workforce figures show that there are 276,608 qualified nurses or their full-time equivalent working in the health service – 4,823 fewer than when the coalition took office two years ago. Ministers argued that overall the number of clinical staff in the NHS had risen by 2,400.

Trade unions and Labour said the job losses were a direct result of cuts to frontline hospital services. Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, pointed out that the health service was losing 200 nurses a month, although there had been an acceleration in the rate of job losses, with more than 1,000 posts gone in the past four months.

He said: "David Cameron has cut the NHS budget for two years running and we are now seeing the effects of this on the ground in the NHS. On his watch, we have seen the NHS lose nurses at a rate of 200 per month as hospital trusts make kneejerk cuts to the frontline."

"This explains why hospitals are under intense pressure, with waiting lists rising and patients being forced to wait on trolleys."

The drop in nursing numbers is significant because it represents in part a shift from state employment to working for private companies and charities. Nursing is moving out of hospitals and into the community, where staff work for private firms or the voluntary sector but are paid for by the NHS.

Ministers say it is inevitable that the number of nurses working in the community "will rise and the number of nurses working in hospitals will drop". According to the government, 13% of community services and 7% of mental health services are already provided by the independent sector.

The Royal College of Nursing claims that government plans to shift care out of hospital and closer to patients' homes are being used as a cover for the cuts. Peter Carter, chief executive and general secretary of the RCN, said: "For two years now, our Frontline First campaign has exposed the slash and burn approach taken by some NHS trusts. It simply isn't right to suggest that you can take these posts away without damaging patient care."

"Our members tell us every day about a health service which could easily buckle under the strain of delivering more care with fewer staff. Cutting staff is a short-sighted and ultimately futile way of attempting to save money, as patients can end up waiting longer and being more seriously ill by the time they are treated."

The coalition says there are two nurses for every bed in the NHS, "meaning the patients that do need to spend time in hospital are getting better care". Health minister Anne Milton said: "There are 2,400 more clinical staff working in the NHS than there were two years ago in May 2010, including over 3,700 more doctors, and over 900 extra midwives. In contrast, the number of admin staff has fallen by over 17,500, creating savings that will be reinvested into frontline patient care.

"Funding will increase by £12.5bn over the next three years, protecting the NHS for the future."