NHS Scotland to get £600 million for 1000 extra staff from overseas to help it through the winter but fears remain as the Scottish Conservatives slam the plan as providing no answers leaving 'doctors and patients at their wits’ end'
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The Scottish Government is set to plough more than £600 million into NHS Scotland in a bid to alleviate the extreme pressures that are anticipated to hit the service this winter.
Health secretary Humza Yousaf outlined actions concentrating on recruitment, staff retention, pay, service development, care home capacity and pre-bookable appointments.
More than 1000 more staff, including 750 nurses, midwives and allied health professionals, will be recruited from overseas and 250 support staff for acute, primary care and mental health.
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Health boards can take unused employer contributions to offer additional salary to support staff retention while extending social care staff support funding will ensure those off with Covid get full pay.
There will be £45 million for the Scottish Ambulance Service to support recruitment, service development and winter planning and £124 million to assist health and social care partnerships to expand care at home capacity.
Mr Yousaf said: “NHS Scotland’s staffing and funding is already at historically high levels, but as we approach the winter period it is crucial that we look to maximise, and enhance where we can, the capacity of the NHS.
“Given the scale of the escalating cost of living crisis, combined with the continued uncertainty posed by Covid and a possible resurgence of flu, this winter will be one of the most challenging our NHS has ever faced.
“These measures will support winter resilience across our health and care system, ensuring people get the right care they need at the right time and in the most appropriate setting.
“We will also expand our workforce, particularly registered nurses to assist with the expected increase in workload. We have jointly agreed a number of overarching priorities with Cosla which will help guide our services this winter. We are on course to double our virtual capacity this year and so far have avoided or saved bed days equivalent to adding a large district general hospital.
But Scottish Conservative shadow cabinet secretary for health Dr Sandesh Gulhane was not convinced, he said: “Doctors and patients at their wits’ end will have received little comfort from this tone-deaf statement.
“Scotland’s NHS is in desperate need of a robust, credible strategy for increasing capacity, supporting staff and making it through this winter.
“All we got from Humza Yousaf was more self-congratulation over his completely inadequate NHS Recovery Plan – which has so far failed to make a dent in our spiralling NHS backlogs and waiting times.
“The health secretary offered no solutions to the crisis in our A&E departments. He made no mention of dentistry whatsoever in his speech, despite warnings that NHS dentistry in Scotland is on the verge of collapse.
“And he boasted about his government’s action on delayed discharge, despite the latest statistics showing that bed blocking remains at almost record levels.”
