RCN Scotland gives pre-budget evidence to two Scottish Parliament committee

The Finance and Public Administration Committee called for views on the affordability and sustainability of Scotland’s tax and spending plans, and the Public Service Reform Committee called for views on how their 2027-28 Scottish budget can promote public service reform, including by removing barriers to progress, promoting preventative approaches, and simplifying the delivery of public services. 

Although each Committee has a different remit and our responses differed for each, some of the key issues we raised in our responses were:

• Too many nursing staffing decisions are based on finance, rather than what's needed to run person-centred services safely. This ends up costing more in the long run, for example through poorer patient outcomes, higher staff sickness levels and increased spending on supplementary staffing. 
• While there has been an increase in the nursing workforce in recent years, at no point has NHS Scotland employed the number of nursing staff its own establishment figures say are needed to deliver safe and effective care. Investment in the NHS and social care nursing workforce is sorely needed, and a comprehensive workforce plan is required based on a robust assessment of increasing need and Scotland's ageing population.
• Strengthening Scotland’s community nursing workforce is one of the best investments the Scottish government could make. This workforce is key to delivering expert interventions to help people live healthier lives in their communities and prevent costly hospital admissions. 
• Significant investment will be needed to drive real progress in our health and social care system. Our current nursing workforce is unsustainable – a whole-system approach and a focus on increasing capacity in the community and social care are vital for putting Scotland’s health and care services on a more sustainable footing. 
• Improving the health and wellbeing of the people of Scotland is key to reducing inequality, driving economic growth and creating a sustainable future. Urgent action is needed to turn around the health of the nation and nursing staff play a vital role in this. We are calling for a 'health in all policies' approach to be embedded across all Scottish government departments to ensure that health is considered and prioritised in all policy development. 

Read our response to the Finance and Public Administration Committee here.

Read our response to the Public Service Reform Committee here