Nurses are at ‘breaking point’

Nurses across Scotland are at “breaking point”, union leaders warned, after a new survey found almost three-quarters feel worse off financially than they did five years ago.

A poll carried out by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) union found 61% of nurses questioned in Scotland said they were too busy at work to provide patients with the level of care they would like.

Nearly 800 nurses in Scotland took part in the research, with 74% of those who took part reported feeling financially worse off than they did five years.

As well as the 40% who said money worries were causing them to lose sleep, 36% said they were looking for a new job.

Almost two-thirds (65%) reported their job band or grade was inappropriate for the work they actually do and no longer matched the responsibilities of their role.

And while 68% described nursing as being a rewarding profession, only 38% said they would recommend it to others as a career.

The RCN published the figures ahead of this week’s Scottish Budget, to highlight the impact that the “prolonged” public sector pay freeze has had on morale in the profession.

The Scottish Government has pledged to end this but with the UK inflation rate currently at 3% it is not certain if Finance Secretary Derek Mackay will be able to give public sector staff a real terms pay rise.