The Scottish Government will action 44 recommendations on ways to improve working conditions for the nation’s nurses and midwives.
The Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce – established by the Scottish Government in 2023 and made up of key nursing and midwifery stakeholders – has this week published its first report setting out actions designed to improve recruitment and retention of staff.
Informed by more than 4,000 nurses, midwives, students and academics, the report recommends the development of ‘national guidance’ on rostering and flexible working, and ensuring appropriate staffing levels so that all staff can take breaks.
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Other recommendations include steps to widen entry into nursing and midwifery through ‘alternative sustainable pre-registration degree education delivery and funding’.
They also involve plans for reviewing the data imputing and paperwork requirements in nursing and midwifery roles.
This follows concerns were raised during the report process about the different systems currently being used across the healthcare system, like in the community and GP practices.
Accepting all 44 recommendations in the report, Scotland’s cabinet secretary for health, Neil Gray said the report was ‘an important milestone’ and that the government was committed to ensuring staff have the ‘flexibility and workplace conditions to thrive’.
‘I am very grateful to everyone who has taken the time to take part in this important piece of work. The Scottish Government will now work with our partners to deliver the actions contained in the report.’
The Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce was established by the Scottish Government two years ago to try and understand the challenges nurses and midwives face and uncover ways to improve their professions.
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The taskforce includes key nursing and midwifery stakeholders, including the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and Council of Deans for Health Scotland.
Colin Poolman, Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland director, said the publication of the taskforce report was a ‘significant step’ and that recommendations should ‘begin to tackle’ the challenge of nursing recruitment and retention in Scotland.
‘Implementation of the recommendations will take time and investment. We look forward to playing a key role in the Implementation Board to ensure delivery and enable Scottish Government to meet its aspiration of making Scotland the best place for nurses and midwives to work,’ he added.
Earlier this month, the RCN urged the Scottish Government to use ‘unspent’ nursing bursaries to invest in nursing recruitment and retention in the country.
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This came after the Scottish Government confirmed in October that nursing staff employed directly by GP practices in Scotland should receive a 5.5% pay increase for 2024/25, backdated to 1 April 2024.
