Nursing unions urge new Scottish first minister to start pay talks
Scotland’s incoming first minister must prioritise work around tackling the nursing workforce crisis and commence pay talks for 2024-25, health unions in the country have urged.
John Swinney was elected as Scotland’s seventh first minister this afternoon, after being backed by the majority of MSPs in Holyrood.
“John Swinney needs to prioritise recruitment, retention and fair reward for NHS workers to underpin and support the delivery of services”
Matt McLaughlin
It follows his appointment as the Scottish National Party (SNP) leader yesterday (6 May) – the second time he has held this post in his political career.
In his acceptance speech, delivered yesterday, he said this was “the beginning of a new chapter” in the SNP’s history.
His appointment came following the resignation of Humza Yousaf, who stepped down from the role last week after he was faced with two votes of no confidence in the Scottish Parliament.
The votes had been triggered by the collapse of a power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens.
As such, Mr Swinney has inherited a minority government, meaning he will need to gather the support of opposition MSPs in order to pass legislation.
In his acceptance speech, Mr Swinney said: “The polarisation of politics does not serve our country well.
“Too often, too many people are too busy fighting to win battles when we should be seeking solutions to problems.
“That is what I pledge I will seek to do.”
As Mr Swinney comes into post, health unions across the country are looking at him to prioritise some of the key issues facing health and care services in the country.
Norman Provan, associate director of the Royal College of Nursing in Scotland, told Nursing Times that the Scottish Government “must get to grips with the workforce crisis” that is facing services.
It comes as Scotland currently has more than 4,000 nursing and midwifery vacancies.
He said: “Nurses and nursing support workers across Scotland are under pressure, under-staffed and many are at breaking point.
“The current pressures and staff shortages have resulted in unsafe conditions being normalised, including the unacceptable practice of treating patients in inappropriate places such as corridors, waiting rooms and store cupboards.”
Mr Provan said Scotland needed “urgent action” to retain experienced staff and ensure that nursing is an attractive career.
As such, he urged Mr Swinney to “move swiftly” to open negotiations for the 2024-25 pay round.
Meanwhile, Unison Scotland’s head of health, Matt McLaughlin, told Nursing Times that the opinion polls showed that dealing with the crisis in the NHS was “a top priority for people in Scotland”.
He said: “We have the longest waiting lists and waiting times since devolution, NHS boards are being forced to cut jobs and services to balance budgets and NHS workers have not received a pay rise and pay talks have not even started.
“John Swinney needs to prioritise recruitment, retention and fair reward for NHS workers to underpin and support the delivery of services.”
