In his statement the First Minister committed to invest more in general practice, particularly in disadvantaged areas, and confirmed that the National Care Service Bill will be delayed further to allow the government to engage with those who have concerns about the Bill.
Commenting on the statement, Colin Poolman, RCN Scotland Director, said:
“Tackling the workforce crisis in Scotland’s health and care services must be a top priority for the First Minister. Scotland simply doesn’t have the registered nurses and nursing support workers it needs and patients and care home residents are suffering as a result. The Scottish government’s steps to address the workforce crisis haven’t delivered and we need urgent action to tackle the exodus of nursing staff from our profession and make nursing a career of choice once again.
“The First Minister must prioritise the work of the new Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce and live up to his promise to reform Agenda for Change to ensure that it recognises the clinical skills and expertise of nursing staff.
“The further pause to the National Care Service Bill is welcome. The RCN has serious concerns about the Bill and we are calling for the Scottish Government to take time to engage properly with stakeholders - including staff working at all levels within the social care and community health sectors - to develop detailed plans for reform prior to taking forward primary legislation. Rather than simply pushing through expensive and disruptive structural overhaul without a clear understanding of how to fix the current problems facing the sector, Ministers need to focus now on tackling the workforce crisis in social care and community health.”
