Warnings that a significant proportion of the medical workforce – and that includes carers – is experiencing stress, anxiety and burnout have been discussed in the Scottish Parliament.
But the Health and Social Care Committee of West Dunbartonshire Council are pressing on with their despised plans to “redesign” the service to save money.
The 116 carers employed in the service locally have had meetings with their trade union representatives to head the Labour-controlled local authority off at the pass.
They are bitterly opposed to the council plans which will see the time allocated for looking after clients from showering and bathing them in the morning to tucking them up in bad in the evening reduced in some cases to an outrageous SEVEN MINUTES and this includes making certain they have taken their medication safely.
“None of that would be possible without the commitment of our hard-working NHS staff, and we take their health and wellbeing very seriously. That is why a dedicated work-related stress policy, developed in partnership with unions and employers, is due to be published shortly, and it is why we continue to invest each year in national wellbeing programmes to ensure that staff can access rapid and compassionate psychological and emotional help if needed.”
“That comes after the General Medical Council found last year that a third of doctors had considered leaving the profession and more than half of doctors in training were at risk of burnout.
“Both the Royal College of Emergency Medicine and the Royal College of Midwives point to safe staffing levels as being essential for patient safety. Despite writing that into law, the Scottish Government is continually failing to meet those levels, leaving NHS staff caught in a vicious cycle of stress-related illness.
“When will the Scottish Government deliver safe staffing levels as promised, to take the pressure off staff, give them the time to deliver the care that they want to give, and genuinely look after those who look after us?”
“I set out in my earlier answer details of our investment in the wellbeing of staff. We have also had an expansion of the number of staff who work in the NHS. There are more staff working in the NHS now than there were when this Government took office. There has been an increase of more than 27 per cent, with more nurses and midwives and more medical and dental consultants.
Those commitments to expand the number of staff are important and help us to deliver results, including the sustained reduction in NHS waiting times and the increase in the number of procedures that are being undertaken. I express my gratitude to the staff of the NHS for all that they contribute to make that possible.
“What tangible action will the First Minister take in response to the issue of staff who are thinking about retiring early and leaving Scotland’s NHS—because of burnout, and not because they wish to? We really need their skills, and we should value their experience.”
Members of the caring staff in West Dunbartonshire have said they will leave their job or retire if the changes to their hours and condictions of employment go through on March 2 as the council is planning.
The First Minister said: “I agree with the point that Carol Mochan makes. I want staff to feel fulfilled in their work and to be able to make their contribution. The evidence is that that is happening, because we are seeing an increased level of activity in the national health service and a sustained reduction in long waits, which I promised the public that I would deliver and I am delivering for people.
“That has been possible only because of the commitment that has been made by staff and the resources that have been put in by the Scottish Government.
“I stress the fact that wellbeing support is in place across all health boards to make sure that staff feel well supported. That is an important priority for the Government.”
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