Dr Nanette Milne MSP, Shadow Minister for Public Health has called for an urgent inquiry into NHS workforce planning. Speaking in the Scottish Governments debate on Taking Scotland Forward.
She said, “I want to raise an issue which is of great concern to me, and to several groups of people I have met here in Parliament, and also at hustings during the election campaign – and that is workforce planning in the NHS.
“We already have new nurses and midwives finding it difficult to obtain employment in the NHS. Specialist nurses, who in my opinion are invaluable and cost effective in the service they give to patients with many long term conditions, find they are an easy hit in difficult financial times, and face being put back into the wards instead of continuing in their specialist role.
“Physiotherapists, speech and language therapists and occupational therapists can’t find work, there are not enough podiatrists to cope with demand, and even young medical graduates are potentially under threat of unemployment.
“I think the situation is becoming quite serious – we can’t be training highly skilled professionals for non-existent jobs – and I would urge the new Health Committee to undertake an urgent inquiry into workforce planning in the NHS, bringing together the expertise which might assist the Government to find a solution to the problems which lie ahead.
“We have an excellent NHS in Scotland, with dedicated and hard-working staff. But it isn’t perfect, and I’d like to see the new Scottish Government listen to us and to the other opposition Parties, using good ideas wherever they originate, to bring about the achievable improvements which would benefit the health of our nation.”