‘We’re too short of nurses to run state snooper plan’
Health board warned of staff shortage over SNP’s guardians plan
NURSING leaders have warned one of Scotland’s biggest health boards may not have enough staff to cope with the controversial ‘state guardian’ scheme.
NHS Lothian already has a 44 per cent vacancy rate in Midlothian, as well as a 19 per cent shortage elsewhere.
The named person scheme will see a state representative appointed to every child under 18, with health visitors taking on the role for children under five.
Under the SNP’s plans, approved by MSPs last year, the state guardian can theoretically be anyone except the child’s parents. Their role will be to spot any potential cases of abuse or developmental difficulty.
Ministers have promised to fund an extra 500 health visitor posts across Scotland, with 61 in Lothian, but the health board still faces a rush to fill them in time. NHS Lothian covers a population of 826,00 people. It currently has 24,000 full and part-time staff.
Royal College of Nursing Scotland associate director Norman Provan said: ‘We have significant concerns. Health visitors – who will be the named person for children under five – are already under serious pressure.
‘NHS Lothian is experiencing great difficulties recruiting enough now, let alone the additional health visitors they will need to implement the named person role and the recently introduced new health visitor pathway.’
While Mr Provan welcomed the additional funding for health visitors, he warned that the 500 extra staff would not be in place in time for August, when the named person scheme comes into force.
He said the NHS needed to ‘redouble its efforts’ to fill the existing vacancies, including asking the Scottish Government to apply a premium to incentivise faster recruitment.
Mr Provan added: ‘What the board cannot and must not do is ask the current workforce to take on more to meet the requirements of the named person legislation without sufficient resources to do this safely.’
NHS Lothian said it had begun an intensive training process and a quicker recruitment campaign to boost numbers.
Professor Alex McMahon, interim nurse director at NHS Lothian, said: ‘Securing our health visitor service is a priority for NHS Lothian and we are encouraged to see that the overall position has not changed significantly, which suggests the measures we have put in place are having an impact.
‘The slight improvement in Midlothian is encouraging but we accept the situation remains challenging. To support the named person criteria, 18 newly qualified health visitors are due to take up post in September.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said £41.6million would be invested to provide 500 extra health visitors and make sure staffing levels were adequate.
He added: ‘Health visitors are valued members of the nursing workforce and we remain committed to their vital contribution to improving the health and wellbeing of children, young people and families.
‘The role of the named person is to provide a single point of contact for parents and children who can help and support them in liaising with other services.’
Last month, the Scottish Daily Mail revealed how taxi drivers have been ordered to report conversations of child passengers back to their ‘state guardians’ – a plan branded ‘Stasi-like’ by opponents of the scheme.