Meeting of the Parliament 11 June 2025
I am pleased to speak on an issue that concerns the very backbone of our NHS: its workforce. I begin by echoing other members’ points about the value of our NHS workforce. It is the beating heart of the NHS and, without it, services and care would collapse, which is why it is so important that we discuss the matter openly and honestly in the Parliament. I thank all those who work tirelessly in Scotland’s NHS. Scottish Labour recognises the contribution and value of workers and understands the pressure and strain that they face daily.
When I speak to constituents, one of the many things that I hear is how difficult it is to see a local GP, and I hear about how long NHS waiting lists are. Ambulances are stacked up outside accident and emergency, patients are waiting hours for treatment and those who are ready to be discharged are forced to remain in hospital while waiting for appropriate care packages. Everything has stagnated, but let us be clear that people understand that it is not the staff’s fault. In fact, people speak very highly of the staff; the issue is the system, and the responsibility lies with the Government.
At the centre of the Government’s stagnation is our workforce, which is struggling to keep up with demand in a fundamentally broken system. After 18 years in power, the SNP has presided over a workforce crisis in which staff shortages not only risk patient safety but put additional pressure on the existing workforce, which impacts their mental and physical health.
Our healthcare system is crying out for additional staff, but newly trained doctors and nurses, who are highly motivated and ready to serve, are meeting with disappointment when they are being told, after years of training, that there are no jobs, although that is not true. The system is crying out for highly professional, trained staff. If we want safe staffing, the NHS must fill more posts, and the Government knows it. How can it be right that newly qualified nurses are being forced to find jobs outside Scotland, despite completing their training at Scottish universities and hospitals, where they see the pressures day in, day out? There are currently more than 2,600 unfilled whole-time-equivalent nursing and midwifery vacancies. We hear from nurses daily that going through and completing the recruitment process in the NHS is agonising.
Since 2013, the number of registered nurses who are employed in care homes has decreased by 28 per cent. That issue is important because those nurses greatly contribute to keeping hospital admissions down, so we must take the statistics seriously. Delivering and supporting a sustainable nursing workforce across Scotland is crucial to improving overall patient care and experience, yet our nurses report feeling undervalued and overlooked. When it comes to issues such as corridor care, poor planning has left staff feeling ashamed, demoralised and distraught.
Our NHS workforce deserves better, and things cannot continue as they are. The Government is aware that urgent work is needed to attract and retain a sustainable workforce, yet there is no obvious plan. There is a disconnect between what the Government promises to do and what it actually delivers. Delivery is essential.