Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 12 May 2022
I am tempted to say, “Follow that” after Stephanie Callaghan’s excellent speech, which was very powerful. I do not think that I can follow it, but I will give it my best shot.
I congratulate Jackie Baillie on lodging an incredibly important motion and bringing it to the chamber for debate. I thank members from right across the chamber for their very thoughtful and, sometimes, very personal speeches. Members have not just—rightly—extolled the virtues of our fantastic nurses up and down the country but challenged the Government on some of the significant pressures that our nursing cohort faces. I will do my best to address some of the points that have been made.
As many members have said, nurses make up the largest single profession in our NHS. They are crucial to the care of each and every one of us. We will all, no doubt, need the attention of a nurse at some point in our lives—for all of us, I hope that that will not be too many times. I reflect that, at any time that I have interacted with a nurse—in my younger days or, more recently, my not-so-young days—they have provided the greatest care and compassion, and I am most grateful for that. Many members have spoken about their personal stories, which I might touch on in just a second.
I agree with Jackie Baillie that warm words are not enough. Warm words are, of course, important—that is no doubt the reason, or part of the reason, why she brought the debate to the chamber. Warm words are important, but they are not the most important factor. She is absolutely right that it is important that we demonstrate that we are focused not merely on words but on actions.
I am proud of our record on how we treat our staff. Members would expect me, as the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, to say that. I certainly do not argue that there are no improvements to be made, but we have had an increase in staffing since 2006 in nursing, as well as more widely in the NHS. In fact, the number of qualified nursing and midwifery staff has gone up by almost 15 per cent since 2006.
Our nurses and midwives are also the best-paid staff. Jackie Baillie seemed to suggest that they were paid a meagre—I think that was her word—£8 more than those in England. However, for band 5, which is an important and significant banding in our agenda for change, the difference in the maximum pay between England and Scotland is more than £1,000—there is a £1,381 difference. That is not “meagre”; it is quite substantial, particularly given the cost of living crisis.