04.09.18
Patients and staff being ‘failed’ by SNP government, Scottish Labour says
Vacancies in NHS Scotland for positions such occupational therapists and physiotherapists have reached a record high with almost 600 posts available, new figures show.
Statistics outlined by Labour today highlighted that Scotland’s hospitals do not have enough nurses, and have had to cancel over 500 operations in July due to staffing shortages.
The new statistics also found that the number of vacant consultancies posts left unfilled for six months has increased — up by almost 18% in the last year.
Staffing issues in Scotland are echoed across the rest of the UK as well: yesterday shocking new figures from the Health Foundation revealed that one in four nursing students drop out of their degrees before graduation, prompting further concerns about the NHS workforce nationally.
Labour health spokesman Anas Sarwar told PA Scottish NHS’s staffing crisis is “worsening” after new figures revealed 3,311 nursing and midwifery posts are left vacant.
“The SNP government cannot blame the current situation on Brexit, it is a staffing crisis made in Scotland by the SNP,” Sarwar stated.
“A survey of NHS staff earlier this year found only around a third of staff believe there are enough of them to do their jobs properly. The result of that is patients not getting the care they need in time.”
But in a statement, health secretary Jeane Freeman defended the government’s track record: “Under this government the number of whole time equivalent (WTE) qualified nurses and midwives has increased by 5.7% and the number of WTE consultants has risen by 48.3% over the same period.
“Through our recently introduced draft legislation for health boards and care providers to have appropriate staffing in place, and our on-going investment in the NHS, we will ensure that patients will continue to receive safe, high quality care.”
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