Staffing for safe and effective care in Scotland
The Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019 (‘the Act’) came into force on 1 April 2024, after our campaigning and sustained pressure on the Scottish government.
The Act sets out requirements for safe staffing across all health and care services in Scotland, and places a legal duty on:
- the NHS and care providers to make sure there are always suitably qualified staff working in the right numbers for safe and effective care
- the Scottish government to ensure there are sufficient numbers of registered nurses, midwives and medical professionals available to enable employers to meet their duty to ensure safe staffing.
What the Act means for you
Related links
- Safe staffing FAQs - Find out more about the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act and what the legislation means for you.
- Our employment survey briefing - Read the findings from the survey, highlighting how our members in Scotland feel about their jobs.
- The Nursing Workforce in Scotland report - Read the report which shows the pressures on the health and care system.
How we're continuing to ensure safe staffing is a priority
We know that the legislation will not immediately address the current acute staff shortages, and we’re clear that it will only make a long-term positive difference if services have the nursing establishment they need. It must be accompanied by increased investment in services to enable providers to tackle vacancies and recruit and retain the workforce that Scotland needs.
However, the Act does create new duties that should make an important difference to nursing staff and to patients.
We will monitor and evaluate the impact of the Act and are calling for an annual parliamentary debate on safe staffing to ensure ongoing scrutiny of how the duties introduced by the Act are being met.
What you can do to raise a concern or find out more about the Act
The legislation should ensure that nursing staff can raise concerns about staffing levels without fear of repercussions and have these concerns listened to and recorded.
Raise a concern
Find out what to do if you see poor care or feel you're being prevented from providing safe care.
Download poster
Encourage your colleagues to find out more about the Act with our workplace poster.
Download leaflet
Our overview leaflet explains what the Act means for you and how we influence on your behalf.
Setting the standards for safe and effective care
Our Nursing Workforce Standards are the first blueprint for tackling the nursing staff shortage levels across the UK, setting the standard for excellent patient care and nursing support in all settings. They set out what must happen within workplaces to ensure the delivery of safe and effective patient care.
How we influence change
We work with our members and with the Scottish government, political parties and elected representatives to put nursing at the top of the political agenda.
Our goal is to make sure your voice is heard by decision makers to get the best outcomes for you and the people you care for.
