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RCN Scotland responds to Labour Party’s proposed ‘Train Here, Stay Here’ policy
RCN Scotland has warned that Scottish Labour’s pledge to introduce a “Train here, stay here” policy for nursing students will not solve Scotland’s nursing retention and recruitment challenges.
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Under the plans announced today by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar MSP, any Scottish medical, nursing or dental student who takes a funded place at a Scottish university would, after graduating, be expected to work in Scotland’s NHS or social care system for at least five years, or repay their tuition support and bursaries.
The policy is one of a number of measures focused on workforce planning and health and social care staff. While a commitment to a ten-year workforce plan is welcome, along with a focus on flexible working and long-term career development, we are concerned that action is needed to encourage more people into nursing.
Over the last four years, thousands fewer students have begun nursing degrees than were originally planned in the targets set by Scottish government. 2025 saw the lowest number of acceptances onto undergraduate nursing courses over the last 7 years. This means the gap between the number of registered nurses that are needed, and the number entering the workforce, is set to widen even further.
Commenting on the proposed policy, Colin Poolman, Executive Director, RCN Scotland said:
“A focus on health and social care workforce planning should absolutely be a priority for the next Scottish government and we welcome the recognition that more needs to be done to retain nursing staff and improve career pathways, as there are too many experienced nurses leaving and too few applying to study nursing.
“What we need is action to make a career in nursing more attractive to encourage more people to join the profession. The proposed "train here, stay here" policy risks having the opposite effect.
“The next Scottish government should be looking to increase the financial support available to nursing students and to ensure the delivery of the Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce recommendations to improve the working environment. This would support new and experienced nurses to stay in Scotland.”
The Scottish Parliament election takes place on 7 May.
Our “The Gloves are Off” campaign is calling on politicians from all the political parties to value nursing properly. Find out more about our campaign and how to get involved below.
The policy is one of a number of measures focused on workforce planning and health and social care staff. While a commitment to a ten-year workforce plan is welcome, along with a focus on flexible working and long-term career development, we are concerned that action is needed to encourage more people into nursing.
Over the last four years, thousands fewer students have begun nursing degrees than were originally planned in the targets set by Scottish government. 2025 saw the lowest number of acceptances onto undergraduate nursing courses over the last 7 years. This means the gap between the number of registered nurses that are needed, and the number entering the workforce, is set to widen even further.
Commenting on the proposed policy, Colin Poolman, Executive Director, RCN Scotland said:
“A focus on health and social care workforce planning should absolutely be a priority for the next Scottish government and we welcome the recognition that more needs to be done to retain nursing staff and improve career pathways, as there are too many experienced nurses leaving and too few applying to study nursing.
“What we need is action to make a career in nursing more attractive to encourage more people to join the profession. The proposed "train here, stay here" policy risks having the opposite effect.
“The next Scottish government should be looking to increase the financial support available to nursing students and to ensure the delivery of the Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce recommendations to improve the working environment. This would support new and experienced nurses to stay in Scotland.”
The Scottish Parliament election takes place on 7 May.
Our “The Gloves are Off” campaign is calling on politicians from all the political parties to value nursing properly. Find out more about our campaign and how to get involved below.
