‘We don’t have enough nurses’ says Scots poll
Nearly three quarters of Scots believe there are not enough nursing staff to provide safe and effective care, according to a new poll.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland survey, carried out on January 25 and 26 by Scotpulse, suggests 73 per cent believe the number of staff employed in the country's health and care services is too low.
A vast majority (92 per cent) agreed nurses should be guaranteed time for doing training and development while 89 per cent said more should be done to protect their wellbeing.
The union's poll also returned high figures of those supportive of a pay rise for NHS nursing staff (83 per cent) and those who agreed nurses should be paid more for the work they do (78 per cent).
Respondents said such a pay rise should be one of the top three priorities for Scottish Government spending on health and care in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
The other two priorities suggested were tackling the backlog of delayed treatments and reducing waiting times and increasing access to mental health services.
Susan Aitkenhead, RCN Scotland director, said: "Nursing as a profession has been integral to the pandemic response; working under immense pressure, whether in hospitals, out in the community, or looking after vulnerable people in care homes.
"As the focus begins to shift towards recovery and remobilisation, we have set out what needs to be done to meet the health and wellbeing needs of the people of Scotland and to protect the future of nursing.”
Residents in Falkirk have come to the defence of their town after Gordon Ramsay criticised it on air on his new BBC One quiz show, Bank Balance.
Ramsay, who was born in Renfrewshire, called the town a “s***hole” when a contestant pair referred to Falkirk as one of the “five cities in Scotland”.
Mr Ramsay responded saying: “I was born in Scotland. Falkirk is not a city. It’s a s***hole, I swear to God.”
His comments were taken with a pinch of salt by residents including MSP Angus Macdonald.
Mr Macdonald said: “Gordon requires to have his mouth washed out with soap.
“Despite that, I’m sure he’d receive a warm and hospitable welcome from folks here. Gordon clearly hasn’t had the opportunity to experience all that Falkirk district has to offer.
“As one of Scotland’s rising tourism hot-spots, it has plenty to offer – from Blackness Castle and Kinneil House to the Kelpies and Falkirk Wheel.”
Almost 50 per cent of rapes reported to police involved the partner or ex-partner of the victim, new statistics have found.
Police Scotland data showed that from April 1 2020 to January 31 2021, 46 per cent of reported rapes were linked to existing or former relationships.
While there was a decrease of 7.1 per cent in reported rapes from April to January 2020-21 compared to 2019-20, police say that all forms of sexual crime continued to be under-reported.
Police Scotland are launching their Get Consent campaign, which aims to spread the message that all sex without consent is rape – including within a relationship.
Assistant Chief Constable, Judi Heaton, said: "Almost half of rapes reported to us are perpetrated within a relationship or by an ex-partner. Being in a relationship does not give anyone the right to sex. Sex without consent is rape – no justifications, no excuses.”