RCN Scotland warn projected rise in staff numbers not enough to keep pace with demand
A projected rise in the number of nursing and midwifery staff working in Scotland’s NHS is not enough to keep pace with increasing patient demand, a representative body has warned.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland said ministers and health boards have not yet done enough to address pressures on the workforce.
The organisation made the comments as official figures showed the number of staff working in Scotland’s health service overall is expected to rise by one per cent this year.
Total staffing across NHS boards is predicted to go up by 1,414 whole time equivalent (WTE) posts in the current financial year.
About two-fifths of the increase is expected to be felt in nursing and midwifery, which is due to get an extra 594 WTE positions – a one per cent rise for that field.
RCN Scotland said the increase does not go far enough.
Associate director Norman Provan said: “While most health boards are predicting a small increase in the number of nursing and midwifery staff over the coming year, it is clear this will not be enough to keep pace with increases in demand.”
The figures come around a month after public spending watchdog Audit Scotland warned the Scottish Government needed to urgently improve workforce planning if the NHS is to have sufficient staff to meet future demands.
Mr Provan went on: “Audit Scotland’s recent reported highlighted that, as well as being consistently underestimated, previous NHS workforce projections have not taken into account policy initiatives such as the integration of health and social care and have not reflected workforce pressures.
“The Scottish Government and health boards have failed to future-proof the workforce and the projections published today do not appear to have addressed these issues.
“We know health boards are facing record numbers of vacancies and that, for some specialities, recruitment and retention of nursing staff is a real challenge.
“Without strategic long-term planning and ensuring nursing staff are paid fairly for the work they do, patients won’t get the care they need.”
The data is contained in a report published by the Scottish Government which sets out the workforce projections for 2017/18 from all NHS boards.
Medical staff are projected to increase by 206 (1.7%) while ambulance services can expect a further 91 posts (a rise of 3.5%).
The number of allied health profession posts is expected to rise by 191 (1.7%), medical and dental support staff are increasing by 25 (1.3%) and therapeutic services are set to go up by 105 (2.5%).
Reflecting on the overall report, Health Secretary Shona Robison said: ”There are record numbers of staff across Scotland’s health service and these projected figures show that we are on track to continue that increase in the year ahead.
”The largest proportion of these increases are expected to be in the nursing and midwifery staff group.
”To continue this, we have committed to create an additional 2,600 training places for nurses and midwives over the next four years.
”Increasing staff numbers is important but we are also focused on making sure we develop and retain the flexible workforce we need.
”This is backed up by other measures in our workforce strategy, such as extended ‘return to practice’ programmes and improved recruitment and retention schemes, particularly in rural areas.”
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