This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Deacon Signals Plans to Redraw Map of NHS Workforce
20/06/2001
Scottish Health Minister Susan Deacon today set out plans for a radical review of the size and shape of the workforce that the NHS needs in Scotland.
Speaking at a major NHS human resources conference in Dunblane, Ms Deacon called for the NHS and key staff representatives to join together in a new partnership to break the cycle of 'demoralisation and blame' which has characterised the NHS for the last 20 years.
The Minister announced that she was appointing Professor John Temple, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, to lead a fundamental review of medical workforce planning so that Scotland has the right numbers of trained doctors to meet the country's future health needs.
And she announced plans for Scotland's first 'nursing summit' bringing together nurses, education providers and others with an interest in promoting the profession in Scotland to 'brainstorm' new ideas on recruitment and retention.
Ms Deacon said:
"Harnessing the skills of our existing NHS staff has been at the heart of this Executive's priorities over the last two years. Much has been done over that period. We have:
- launched the first comprehensive Education and Training Strategy for the NHS
- brought in tough new guidelines backed by new investment to make our wards and practices safer and healthier places to work
- increased pay well above inflation for both doctors and nurses
- agreed a ground-breaking 3-year deal with other staff to support our lowest paid workers
- and increased the number of trained doctors and nurses working in the NHS.
"It has been a positive start - but there is much more to be done. Many staff remain frustrated at the pace of change, at the shortages in parts of the healthcare system, and that the steps we have taken so far do not go far enough. I share some of that frustration.
"That's why today I am setting out a series of key measures to step up the pace of change, to address pressures on parts of our workforce, and to signal that we are prepared to think radically about our long-term staff needs. We need fresh ideas and a fresh approach. There are significant challenges ahead in getting the right number of trained staff with the right skills for our future needs.
"The fact that the NHS in Scotland enjoys lower levels of nursing vacancies than the rest of the UK, and that we train more doctors than we can employ are no longer barometers of success. We ignore future workforce needs at our peril. We cannot afford to adopt an 'ostrich' approach in Scotland.
"These issues will not - indeed cannot - be solved by staff representatives sitting across the table from government. They must be around the table with government and NHS employers. We cannot build morale by talking up problems and talking down the service.
"It is time for concerted joint action. It is time for a bit of radicalism in our approach. Next week, I will outline our vision for valuing those professions allied to medicine - like physiotherapists. Today I want to concentrate on doctors and nurses.
"As we promised in the Scottish Health Plan, we will have a fundamental review of medical workforce planning. I am delighted today to announce that Professor John Temple, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh will lead that review. Professor Temple has a strong history of shaping change within the medical workforce and I am delighted that we have secured his services.
"The review will be the most wide-ranging of its kind ever undertaken in Scotland. It will have a scope and a remit broader than any comparable exercise in the UK. We need to look urgently at how we ensure that we have the right number of doctors, at the right grades, in the right place and at the right time to ensure we can deliver those improvements for the long-term. It will take into account all the current work done on integrated workforce planning and look 'around the corner' at the impact of working time directives, flexible working conditions, morale in General Practice, and the very specific needs of serving Scotland's remote communities. I have asked for an initial report later this year.
"Hand in hand with a review of our long-term medical needs is the vital role of nurses - the single largest professional group in the NHS. I do not need nursing leaders to remind me of the important role nurses play. I see it in every ward, in every hospital and in every health centre I visit. But I do need nursing leaders to get round the table with me to help find new ways of persuading nurses - and would-be nurses - that the NHS offers a long-term and rewarding career. I have decided to call together all of those nursing leaders - indeed everyone with a stake in making nursing fit for the future - to join me in a 'summit' to look at recruitment and retention. To bring new ideas to the table, not just new demands.
"We will deal with nursing pay through the independent review process - but as nurses themselves tell me - it's not just about pay. It's about being valued. Government cannot do that alone. We must work together to ensure nurses choose the NHS - or we risk losing a very vital part of the NHS. We all have a stake in ensuring that does not happen.
"There are always huge challenges in managing a workforce of 136,000 people. NHS Scotland is one of the largest employer organisations in Europe. The NHS workforce across the UK is one of the largest in the world. If we want a workforce that is fit for purpose in the future then we must begin planning it now. That is the process I want to see flow from today's conference."
News Release: SE1484/2001
20 Jun 2001