MSP says nursing levels are in crisis
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NHS Highland has defended its use of agency nurses in the face of new figures that highlight a recruitment crisis according to a Tory MSP.
Edward Mountain said the number of nurses leaving Scotland’s NHS has reached a new high, with NHS Highland using bank and agency staff to plug the gap to the tune of £8.8 million in 2017/18 on bank nurses – a 44 per cent increase in five years.
He blamed the Scottish Government and NHS board mismanagement and pointed out NHS Highland is one of the worst with just 85.3 per cent of its nursing and midwifery posts filled.
The Highlands and Islands MSP said: "These new figures highlight the deepening recruitment crisis in NHS Highland which is becoming more and more dependent on locums with staff shortages in nursing, radiology and ophthalmology.
"Underfunding from the SNP Government and mismanagement from NHS Highland has created this crisis."
Heidi May, board nurse director said NHS Highland is experiencing increasing challenges due to having more staff retiring and also a decreasing pool to recruit from.
She added: "Bank staff enable us to staff our services in a sustainable way.
"We have a unified Staff Bank that co-ordinates the supply of bank and agency staff and also ensures that the quality of staff we recruit is of the highest calibre. NHS Highland is fortunate in that staff we recruit to the bank are largely drawn from our existing staff and this too enables us to sustain high-quality care for patients.
"Local managers and clinical leaders are focusing on the redesign of services and training and development to ensure sustainability into the future."
Scotland’s health secretary Shona Robison said: "NHS Highland’s workforce has increased by over 22 per cent under this government to historically high levels, including over 80 more consultants and over 110 more allied health professionals.
"Spending on agency nurses fell by 3.6 per cent last year in Scotland, and we have been clear with boards that they should only use agency as a last resort."
