Hansard

I thank Emma Harper for bringing this important debate to the chamber, and I congratulate her and her sisters on their amazing contribution to the NHS.

Nurses make up the largest single profession in our NHS. They are at the heart of care for every single person, young or old. They work not just in hospital wards but in GP practices, homes and care homes, and in communities across the country. Every person in the chamber has—often literally—been touched by a nurse and our lives have been improved because of that encounter. It is my privilege as a Scottish minister to thank each and every nurse across our country for their commitment and professionalism. On behalf of all the people of Scotland who are recognising international nurses day, we thank them for their unstinting service. We value and appreciate them.

The Government is committed to supporting our nurses and ensuring that we have a sustainable workforce who have fulfilling careers and are able to play the fullest part in delivering the health and social care that Scotland needs, today and in the future. Scotland has a long and proud history of supporting our skilled nurses. The first nursing unit to be set up at a British university was opened in 1956 at the University of Edinburgh by another nursing heroine—who has not been mentioned—Elsie Stephenson.

Nursing has changed beyond all recognition from the pioneering days of Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole. I am surprised that my general knowledge on this occasion is better than Stewart Stevenson’s, because I knew about Mary Seacole. When I was on Clapham High Street in London the other month, I passed a Mary Seacole centre and was able to tell my daughter who she was. That is one up on Stewart Stevenson, for once.

As Donald Cameron mentioned, the basic commitments of nursing that Florence Nightingale pioneered—the hygiene, and the food and diet—are still very much to the fore, but the equipment and skill that are required by our professional graduates, who deliver increasingly complex care to a more diverse population in a wide range of settings, are certainly challenging. It is more important than ever that we ensure that our nursing workforce is fit for the future with the right numbers, the right skills, the right opportunities and the right support. It is important that we make sure that everyone who has a desire, aptitude and ability to go into nursing can do so. That is why our chief nursing officer has commissioned a review of the ways to support and widen access to nursing education and careers, which is being led by Professor Paul Martin CBE.

To support nursing, the Scottish Government is delivering a record number of qualified nurses and midwives. There are over 3,400 more nursing and midwifery staff working in our NHS today than there were five years ago. We are creating 1,000 extra training places for nurses and midwives over this session of Parliament and supporting our student nurses by keeping their tuition free and protecting their bursary, as other members have said. We have created a £1 million discretionary fund as a safety net for students in the greatest need.

We are transforming nursing roles to maximise nurses’ vital and unique role in the health and social care system. Our chief nursing officer is developing a fresh vision for nursing in Scotland and is taking it forward in partnership with nurses throughout the country.

We are investing £3 million to train an additional 500 advanced nurse practitioners as part of our health and social care system, plus a further £2 million to enhance the skills of general practice nurses in supporting the wider primary care transformation aims.

We are committed to enshrining safe staffing in law. We are doing groundbreaking work to place our nursing and midwifery workload and workforce planning tools on a statutory footing.

It is important to mention the return to practice scheme. We have a rich resource of former nurses who have dropped off the register for one reason or another. In January 2015, we announced £450,000 over three years to reintroduce a national return to practice scheme. Robert Gordon University in my constituency is at the forefront of that work.

Others have mentioned the international context. We know about Florence Nightingale’s nursing team in the Crimea and we heard about Mary Seacole not being allowed to join that team but going anyway, which showed her determination.

Clare Haughey mentioned the nurses and clinicians who go to other countries to learn about other ways of working and to help achieve the development goals. We have supported Scottish NHS clinicians to work with nurses in Malawi’s major hospitals in order to improve their skills, which has included working with oncology nurses at the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Blantyre to develop a multidisciplinary approach to cancer treatment. We supported Malawian breast care nurses to visit the UK to gain experience in diagnostics and follow-up clinics. I visited Mount Mulanje hospital in the south of Malawi, which has a lot of connections with Scotland.

As we speak, nurses are working away saving lives, comforting those in pain and delivering world-leading care in our communities and hospitals.

In recognition of international nurses day, I note that the Scottish global health collaborative seeks to create a framework for volunteering in global health that recognises challenges and constraints as well as the benefits at home and overseas. It intends to develop guidance that is helpful to clinical and non-clinical staff for those in training, those who are trained and their employing organisations.

We are in safe hands, not just on international nurses day but every single day. We thank nurses and appreciate them.