The manifesto includes commitments to drive down waiting lists, end corridor care, tackle delayed discharge, and create new neighborhood health hubs. 

The party has pledged to shift resources into the community, embrace and invest in new technology, and reduce bureaucracy by cutting the number of health boards down to three. 

On workforce, the manifesto includes promises to deliver flexible working and a 10-year workforce plan that links university places to training posts, jobs and career development and aims to ensure staff can have fulfilling careers and the health service has the safe staffing that it needs. The manifesto also includes previously announced plans for a new NHS work requirement for future Scottish medical, dental and nursing students so that those who are funded to train in Scotland must work for at least five years in Scotland’s NHS or social care, or pay back their tuition and bursaries. 

The party proposes a new emergency mental health response service, staffed by specially trained paramedics, nurses and mental health professionals so that people in mental health crisis get specialist NHS care rather than a police response.  

There are also plans to train and recruit more health visitors, to guarantee support for new families, and to deliver parity of pay for hospice-based doctors and nurses, with a long-term sustainable funding model for hospices and end of life care. 

On social care, the manifesto commits to immediately funding an additional 1,000 care at home packages and 300 step down beds, to help reduce delayed discharge, and to deliver £15 an hour minimum pay for care workers, working with trade unions to improve terms and conditions through collective pay bargaining in the sector. 

Colin Poolman, RCN Scotland Executive Director said: 

“Commitments to end corridor care and introduce a long-term workforce plan that aims to ensure safe staffing and fulfilling careers are welcome. It's also good to see commitments to increase the number of health visitors, recognising the key role that these specialist nurses play in supporting young children and their families, and to deliver sustainable funding for hospices and end-of-life care services, with pay parity for those working in the sector. 

“While proposals to improve emergency mental health response are welcome, there needs to be investment in staffing such a service, as well as increasing resources for the overstretched community mental health nursing teams that work to support people with their mental health and avoid the need for crisis interventions. There are pronounced shortfalls of new mental health nursing students and this trend needs to be turned round. 

“We have already raised concerns that Scottish Labour’s new “train here, stay here” policy will not solve Scotland’s nursing retention and recruitment challenges. What we need is action to make a career in nursing more attractive to encourage more people to join the profession. A policy which would require newly qualified nurses to pay back their tuition fees and bursary, if they don’t meet a new NHS work requirement, risks having the opposite effect. 

It is also vital that trade unions and professional bodies have a key voice in future discussions about reforming and restructuring health and care services.”

RCN Scotland will respond to each of the main parties’ manifestos, and we encourage all of our members to engage in the political process and use their vote on 7 May.