‘Reckless’: Scottish Government accused of quietly cutting 1,100 nursing roles

More than 1,100 nursing and ­midwifery jobs have been cut this year despite Scottish Government promises not to reduce frontline health staff, we can reveal.

Under questioning from Scottish Labour last week, Finance Secretary Shona Robison strenuously denied suggestions that nursing posts were being cut, insisting “essential posts on the frontline will be protected in terms of recruitment”.

But Scottish Labour research shows 1,152 nursing and midwifery jobs had already been cut by stealth by the end of June, even before the current round of budget cuts began.

By the end of 2023, there were a total of 70,980 whole time equivalent nursing and midwifery posts in Scotland.

By June, figures dropped to 69,828.

Scottish Labour’s Dame Jackie Baillie has repeatedly raised concerns that nursing and midwifery graduates are struggling to find jobs, despite their training costs exceeding £12 million.

Baillie said: “The cost of training each nurse or midwife is £60,000. We are paying to train nurses and midwives for NHS England rather than NHS Scotland.”

‘Empty promise’

Last month The Sunday Post revealed the Royal College of Midwives is so concerned about the safety impact of not enough staff in maternity wards that it is planning to meet MSPs to discuss the crisis.

We told how 131 families have received some £74m in compensation after babies and mothers died or suffered life-changing injuries at maternity units across Scotland.

All paediatric nurses at Glasgow Caledonian University were reportedly told there were no available jobs within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde at the end of the recruitment process.

These job cuts also call into question the SNP Government’s ability to meet its legal requirements on safe staffing levels in the NHS.

Plea for help as health boards pay out £74m after 131 Scots families suffer baby deaths and injuries

Baillie said: “The SNP Government’s empty promise to protect frontline jobs has been blown out of the water already.

“Even before the scale of the financial chaos was made public, the SNP was quietly cutting nursing and midwifery jobs from our NHS.

“It beggars belief that, as our NHS is fighting for survival, with waiting lists at a record high and patients languishing in corridors, the SNP is getting rid of frontline staff.

“NHS nurses have gone above and beyond to keep services going and patients safe. But, once again, they have been abandoned by the SNP Government.

“This reckless Government is at risk of breaching its legal duty to ensure our NHS has the staff it needs to keep patients safe. Scotland cannot keep paying the price for the SNP’s financial mismanagement and waste. It’s time for change.”

© Andrew Cawley

Following the Scottish Government’s announcement of £500m cuts, Robison assured parliament there would be no impact on frontline health services.

She said: “Essential posts on the ­frontline, whether in health, police or fire, will be protected in terms of recruitment. I put that on the record again, for the avoidance of doubt.”

Gaps in workforce

But nursing insiders slammed Robison’s promises, claiming ­significant gaps in the workforce.

The Royal College of Nursing’s Associate director Norman Provan said while students have been on unpaid placements within NHS and social care services as part of their training, they are being told no posts are available.

He said: “That is directly at odds with their experiences during placement where they have witnessed overcrowding, pressure on services and significant gaps in the nursing workforce.

“This is evidently a failure of the workforce planning processes and we’re concerned these decisions are being driven by short-term financial considerations rather than service and patient need.

“Our government must ensure newly qualified nursing staff are supported in their search for employment. Otherwise, they risk these individuals moving away from Scotland or leaving the profession altogether.

“This issue must be addressed quickly. Budgets are tight, but the costs of not investing in nursing are significant both in terms of the long-term impact on service delivery, and the very real risk of harm to patients and ­ residents being cared for today.”

The Scottish Government said: “Our overall workforce, including nursing and midwifery staffing, has increased over the last year. As the Finance Secretary stated earlier this week, frontline services like the NHS can recruit the staff they need to ensure delivery of high-quality and sustainable care.

“Our NHS workforce is now at 160,065.7 whole time equivalent jobs, an increase of 24,185 or 17.8% over the last decade.”