Chamber
Plenary, 09 May 2002
09 May 2002 · S1 · Plenary
Item of business
Nurses
In areas in which the Scottish Executive has the power to make a positive difference to conditions, it has been listening to the RCN's campaign and has made some progress. The minister outlined that progress today, which includes studies of work loads and new work force development centres. Over the past months, Susan Deacon and Malcolm Chisholm have made welcome announcements that will impact positively on nurses. The minister has announced £5 million for nurse recruitment and retention initiatives this year. That will cover return-to-practice schemes, 250 more student nurse places and a guaranteed minimum of one year's employment for 15,000 newly qualified nurses and midwives.
Scotland has the highest attrition rate for nurses in the UK. A quarter of nursing students will not finish their courses. We must ask ourselves why that is and put in place mentoring schemes, as well as better information for potential nurses about what the job is really about. A 10 per cent increase in student bursaries, which was announced last July, and an end to the anomalies between degree and diploma students are both welcome and should go some way towards encouraging people to go into nursing training. However, as Tommy Sheridan said, there is still a long way to go.
Nurses work against a backdrop of increased work load for a number of reasons. With people spending less time in hospital before being discharged into the community, the average in-patient is in need of greater acute care than ever before. A shortage of nurses also means that nurses have to do extra shifts to cover the gaps.
We welcome the work of the Scottish integrated work force planning group. We need innovative approaches to make working more flexible, and we must do all that we can to encourage nurses to remain in the NHS team, either as contracted members of staff or as members of NHS banks. We must learn from the practice of nursing agencies so that we can offer staff the flexibility that they need at certain times in their lives, for example when they need time out or reduced hours to care for children or elderly relatives. Initiatives such as the acute trust nursing bank in the Forth Valley NHS Board area are to be applauded.
Susan Deacon held a nursing recruitment and retention convention last November, which I was pleased to attend. That spawned the facing the future implementation group and a series of meetings, the purpose of which was to examine specific areas of concern for nurses, including recruitment and retention. Continuing career development and training were the main issues that nurses consistently raised. In particular, 40 per cent of nurses have to pay the cost of continuing professional development themselves, while a further 40 per cent have to attend courses in their own time. Other nurses may be supported financially by their trust or board, but they know that organising cover so that they may attend courses is difficult, particularly in remote and rural areas.
We should do more to encourage career development. There are far more consultant nurses in England than in Scotland. We should give some thought to the fact that, when nurses embark on a career path, for example with NHS 24 or in specialist nursing grades, general ward nursing is possibly being left short of nurses at G grade and other senior staff.
One of the most welcome statements that the Executive has made recently was on the return-to-practice pilot courses. We need to roll out those courses across Scotland and reach out to the 10,000 qualified nurses who are currently not working in the NHS.
The success of all the policies that are set out in "Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change" and in Executive document after Executive document relies on nurses. Freeing up general practitioners' time, delivering on waiting times, improving public health, increasing nurse prescribing and providing nurse-led clinics are only a few of the things for which we rely on the flexibility of nurses.
I value this opportunity to say yet again how much we rely on nurses, and I look forward to the Executive making further progress on the issue.
Scotland has the highest attrition rate for nurses in the UK. A quarter of nursing students will not finish their courses. We must ask ourselves why that is and put in place mentoring schemes, as well as better information for potential nurses about what the job is really about. A 10 per cent increase in student bursaries, which was announced last July, and an end to the anomalies between degree and diploma students are both welcome and should go some way towards encouraging people to go into nursing training. However, as Tommy Sheridan said, there is still a long way to go.
Nurses work against a backdrop of increased work load for a number of reasons. With people spending less time in hospital before being discharged into the community, the average in-patient is in need of greater acute care than ever before. A shortage of nurses also means that nurses have to do extra shifts to cover the gaps.
We welcome the work of the Scottish integrated work force planning group. We need innovative approaches to make working more flexible, and we must do all that we can to encourage nurses to remain in the NHS team, either as contracted members of staff or as members of NHS banks. We must learn from the practice of nursing agencies so that we can offer staff the flexibility that they need at certain times in their lives, for example when they need time out or reduced hours to care for children or elderly relatives. Initiatives such as the acute trust nursing bank in the Forth Valley NHS Board area are to be applauded.
Susan Deacon held a nursing recruitment and retention convention last November, which I was pleased to attend. That spawned the facing the future implementation group and a series of meetings, the purpose of which was to examine specific areas of concern for nurses, including recruitment and retention. Continuing career development and training were the main issues that nurses consistently raised. In particular, 40 per cent of nurses have to pay the cost of continuing professional development themselves, while a further 40 per cent have to attend courses in their own time. Other nurses may be supported financially by their trust or board, but they know that organising cover so that they may attend courses is difficult, particularly in remote and rural areas.
We should do more to encourage career development. There are far more consultant nurses in England than in Scotland. We should give some thought to the fact that, when nurses embark on a career path, for example with NHS 24 or in specialist nursing grades, general ward nursing is possibly being left short of nurses at G grade and other senior staff.
One of the most welcome statements that the Executive has made recently was on the return-to-practice pilot courses. We need to roll out those courses across Scotland and reach out to the 10,000 qualified nurses who are currently not working in the NHS.
The success of all the policies that are set out in "Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change" and in Executive document after Executive document relies on nurses. Freeing up general practitioners' time, delivering on waiting times, improving public health, increasing nurse prescribing and providing nurse-led clinics are only a few of the things for which we rely on the flexibility of nurses.
I value this opportunity to say yet again how much we rely on nurses, and I look forward to the Executive making further progress on the issue.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Sir David Steel):
NPA
The next item of business is a debate on motion S1M-3078, in the name of Malcolm Chisholm, on action to recruit, retain and value nurses, and two amendments ...
The Minister for Health and Community Care (Malcolm Chisholm):
Lab
The delivery of health services for patients requires a combination of sustained investment and reform—investment in staff, equipment, facilities and new tre...
Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP):
SSP
Will Malcolm Chisholm give way?
Malcolm Chisholm:
Lab
In a moment. I need to make more progress first.We want all those who qualify to secure employment within NHS Scotland, if they wish to do so. We have theref...
Tommy Sheridan:
SSP
My question relates specifically to nurses' bursaries. Given his experience of speaking at various conferences, the minister will surely accept that the bigg...
Malcolm Chisholm:
Lab
There will be a further increase in bursaries this year. I am aware of the issue that Tommy Sheridan raises, and I am sure that it will come up at the specia...
Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
Will the minister give way?
Malcolm Chisholm:
Lab
Time will not allow me to take an intervention. I have only one and a half minutes left.Flexibility is another key issue that has been raised at nursing conv...
Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP):
SNP
I thank nurses, midwives and health visitors for the enormous contribution that they make to patient care and the national health service. I also pay tribute...
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con):
Con
Another week, another health debate, and this week another health minister, too. I welcome this debate on recruiting, retaining and valuing nurses, given tha...
Mrs Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD):
LD
I am pleased to speak in the debate to acknowledge the work that Scotland's nurses do in international nurses week and throughout the year, and to highlight ...
Brian Adam:
SNP
Will Margaret Smith give way?
Mrs Smith:
LD
I will not give way. I have no time. I have only five minutes.
Brian Adam:
SNP
There will be no debate if she does not give way.
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Mr George Reid):
SNP
Order.
Mrs Smith:
LD
In areas in which the Scottish Executive has the power to make a positive difference to conditions, it has been listening to the RCN's campaign and has made ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
SNP
We now come to the open debate. We are obviously tight for time, but I will allow speeches of four minutes with some extra time for interventions.
Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab):
Lab
I agree with other members that it is highly appropriate for us to hold this debate during international nurses week. Since 1997, Labour has delivered 20,000...
Nicola Sturgeon:
SNP
Will Sarah Boyack give way?
Sarah Boyack:
Lab
No, thank you, Ms Sturgeon. Those concerns are a legacy of what the Tories did to the health service. The recent pronouncements of Liam Fox show the Tories' ...
Ben Wallace (North-East Scotland) (Con):
Con
Will the member take an intervention?
Sarah Boyack:
Lab
I will take a brief intervention.
Ben Wallace:
Con
How does Ms Boyack reconcile her fine words and the fine words of the Scottish Executive with the fact that the chancellor will take £5.8 million out of the ...
Sarah Boyack:
Lab
I have not met any nurse who is unhappy about the massive increase that everyone recognises is going into the NHS. We need to talk up the fact that the money...
Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP):
SNP
Nurses now take on greater roles and greater responsibilities than ever before, but the average age of nurses is increasing. The average age in Scotland is n...
Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con):
Con
The contribution that our nurses make to our health care system is phenomenal. They are the backbone of the NHS and without them the NHS would crumble. There...
Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab):
Lab
Jamie McGrigor's contribution—or perhaps what was omitted from it—speaks volumes about the lack of consensus in Scotland on sustained and rising investment i...
Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
Members of all parties have produced statistics on a variety of issues, such as the number of nurses who leave the profession, the number of nursing students...
Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD):
LD
I will concentrate on two points—job satisfaction and prisons. Three things make a job worth having and attract people to it: pay and conditions; the public ...
Janis Hughes (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab):
Lab
I declare an interest as a member of Unison. As a nurse, I am delighted to speak in today's debate. During my years in the health service, I considered mysel...