Hansard

It would be an understatement to say that the topic of the NHS has been somewhat of a current theme in the chamber of late. The pandemic has thrown into sharp focus the way that people in Scotland and, indeed, in all of the United Kingdom rely on our health service for our ways of life. On today’s international nurses day, we pay tribute to a vital section of the health service without which the entire operation would come to a grinding halt. The army of nurses in the NHS work tirelessly, day and night, to ensure that the patients in their charge are given the care that they need.

On a personal note, I have many experiences of years in hospitals, for both myself and loved ones. In every case, the nurses have not only provided top-class care but have been a calming bedside presence, but in reality they are under vast amounts of pressure. On Monday night, my father was taken into hospital in the early hours of the morning. The nurses and doctors looked after him in a superb way, but there were too few of them and they were under too much pressure. We need to address the shortages of nurses quickly and efficiently. I want to add my personal thanks, as well as those of the chamber, to all our nurses and to thank them for their work.

Looking forward, the main issue for me is, as I said, the number of nurses that we have. There can be no doubt, when we look at the staffing numbers in nursing, that Scotland is going through a difficult period. As Jackie Baillie said, the Scottish Government will say that there are more nurses, but there are also more patients and people requiring healthcare. However, I did find some encouraging news when I visited Edinburgh Napier University just a few weeks ago. I understand that it is hoping to take in 2,000 first-year students to study nursing in September. The facilities and training that they will get at the university are excellent. If anyone wants a good trip, I recommend going to the university to see how the nurses are taught and learn on amazing equipment.

We can be proud of those who will qualify in the next few years, but the question is whether they will stay in Scotland or go and work in other parts of the United Kingdom and other parts of the world. We need not only to train nurses but to ensure that they stay in NHS Scotland.

Finally, I want to make special mention of cancer nurses. We all know that cancer numbers in Scotland are going up, with Macmillan estimating that 110 people will be diagnosed per day by 2027. Macmillan’s recommendations say that the Government’s upcoming cancer strategy must ensure that a specialist cancer nurse is made available to every cancer patient who needs one, making sure that people are receiving the care that is needed. That is a big ask but one that I hope the Government will continue to support; I hope that the cabinet secretary will confirm that tonight. We need our universities such as Napier bringing forward, recruiting and training, but we also need the Government to make the future brighter for those who have cancer. We need to make sure that it continues to be an amazing field of nursing across the whole of our country.

In conclusion, I say “Thank you” to our nurses. Thank you for what you do, often unseen, day in, day out. We appreciate it, we respect you and we thank you for what you do.