Commenting on the Scottish Government’s budget announcement Colin Poolman, Director, RCN Scotland said:
“Today’s budget is light on detail on how the Scottish government plan to address the current nursing workforce crisis. It was a missed opportunity to set out the investment needed to support and retain our existing nursing workforce and to set out how we can grow and develop the nursing workforce of the future.
“Our members working in the NHS are still waiting for key elements agreed in this year’s Agenda for Change pay deal to be implemented. I wrote to the Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care last week to call again for his confirmation of full funding for implementation of the Agenda for Change review recommendations. It was disappointing not to hear reference to the review in today’s budget speech.
“Our members are beginning to question the Scottish government’s commitment to the nursing profession because of this delay. We are pressing the Cabinet Secretary for confirmation of implementation of the agreed areas of reform and I will continue to press hard for confirmation.
“In the longer term, we are calling for an open and honest discussion about the level of investment and new ways of working that will be required to have a sustainable workforce that can meet the continued growing demands on our health and care services.”
