Johnstone wins on Health and Care Staffing amendments
Scottish Greens health spokesperson Alison Johnstone MSP today (29 Jan) won support for her amendments to the government's Health and Care Staffing Bill.
Alison's amendments give senior charge nurses time to fulfil their clinical leadership role, give staff time for continuing professional development, and place a duty on Scottish Ministers to ensure enough student places to support the workforce.
Alison Johnstone, Health spokesperson for the Scottish Greens and MSP for Lothian, said:
“This bill is a chance to make a real difference. We need to work with our Health Boards and agencies to address the staffing shortages within health and care.
"The Scottish Government has an important part to play when it comes to ensuring appropriate numbers of training places for the nurses, midwives and doctors we all rely on. We also need to ensure that Senior Charge nurses are able to fully fulfil their lead role and I was pleased to work with the Royal College of Nursing and give a voice to their members’ concerns in this regard.
"If we want to improve recruitment and retention of those working in health and care, we need to ensure that they have guaranteed time to continue to develop their professional skills.
“I thank those who supported my amendments in Committee and hope that Parliament agrees to them when the Bill moves towards its final stage in the Chamber.”