Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Debate: NHS Scotland Staffing Crisis

Donald Cameron S5M-01554 That the Parliament recognises the serious staffing crisis taking place in the NHS and has no confidence in the Scottish Government’s workforce planning for the NHS; believes that the Scottish Government has not done enough to prevent this crisis, despite warnings from patient and medical organisations; commends the dedication of all NHS and primary care staff who work tirelessly to provide the best care possible; believes that they should be supported fully and not be put under increasing pressure due to chronic short-staffing; notes the pressures that are also falling on the social care workforce and the important role that these workers play in society, and calls on all parties to work together to support the NHS in order to meet growing demand. Shona Robison S5M-01554.4 As an amendment to motion S5M-01554 in the name of Donald Cameron on Health, leave out from “the serious” to “and calls on” and insert “the increased demands on the National Health Service, including in general practice and primary care; welcomes investment to address pressures in primary care and endorses the Scottish Government’s aim of increasing the proportion of the NHS budget being spent on primary care, community care, mental health and social care in each year of the current parliamentary session; commends the dedication of all NHS and primary care staff who work tirelessly to provide the best care possible; notes that approximately 1 in 20 of NHS Scotland’s doctors come from elsewhere in the EU, and believes that the UK Government’s reckless actions over Brexit threaten NHS Scotland’s ability to recruit health and care staff in the future; condemns the UK Government’s plans to scrap free tuition and bursaries for nursing and midwifery students in England and fully supports that both free tuition and nurse bursaries will be retained in Scotland; further notes that proposals for national and regional workforce planning for health and care will be published later in 2016, and that this will seek to give parity of status to mental and physical health; believes that the creation of Scotland’s first graduate entry programme for medicine, which will support students who work in the Scottish NHS after they qualify, will help attract people from a wider range of backgrounds to medicine and increase the number who chose to work in Scotland’s remote and rural areas; welcomes the continuing positive partnership between the Scottish Government and the BMA that meant Scotland was the first part of the UK to abolish the bureaucratic Quality and Outcomes Framework and which will support the negotiation of a new GP contract in 2017, and looks to”. Anas Sarwar S5M-01554.2 As an amendment to motion S5M-01554 in the name of Donald Cameron (NHS Scotland Staffing Crisis), after "short-staffing;" insert "notes the 2,500 nursing and midwifery vacancies, including more than 300 mental health nurse vacancies, and the recent RCN survey, which recorded 9 out of 10 nurses reporting that their workload has got worse; further notes the 1 in 4 GP practices reporting a vacancy and the call by the RCGP for an additional 830 GPs; condemns cuts to local services, which are placing even greater pressure on NHS staff; further".