First Minister launches expansion of Family Nurse Partnership

Programme: Scheme will recruit 60 more nurses by the end of 2018

Dozens of extra nurses will be deployed to help young mothers and their children, the First Minister announced yesterday.

Eligible mums receive regular visits before and after birth under the family nurse scheme.

And up to 60 more nurses are to be recruited nationwide by the end of 2018.

Nicola Sturgeon announced the expansion in Dundee at an event to celebrate NHS Tayside helping more than 1,000 teenage mums through the partnership support since 2011.

Speaking at the city’s Caird Hall, Ms Sturgeon said: “We want to make Scotland the best country in the world to grow up in.

“A key part of that is ensuring all children, regardless of background, have the best possible start in life.

“The Family Nurse Partnership has helped thousands of children and firsttime mums across Scotland.

“Events, like this one in Dundee, demonstrate the positive impact that family nurses can have on the families they work with.”

She continued: “We want to ensure every eligible mother can access this support and the expansion of the programme will make that a reality.”

Crianne Calder, from Kirriemuir, was at the event with her 12-week-old son Harri.

“It has been brilliant to have someone who has been with us right from the start to help us,” she said.

“It is scary being a new mum but the scheme has been a great help for us.”

More than 4,500 young mothers have taken part in the scheme, with more than 2,500 having completed the programme since it began in 2010.

The expansion will bring the annual cost of the programme to approximately £16 million a year when fully rolled out.

Picture: Steve MacDougall. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon cuts a cake at yesterday’s event.

Picture: Steve MacDougall. Ms Sturgeon holding one-year-old Rhys, from Whitfield in Dundee, at the event. In the background is Debbie Balshaw, service lead with the partnership in Tayside.