Medics struggling to get jobs despite staff shortage ‘ludicrous’, Sarwar says

Scotland’s NHS is in a “ludicrous” situation where medics are struggling to find work despite the system suffering from staff shortages, the Scottish Labour leader has said.

Anas Sarwar told reporters in Glasgow that despite the need for more staff in parts of the health system, newly qualified Scots have been left without jobs.

Speaking before he met healthcare students at City of Glasgow College, he said the SNP had presided over a “broken system” that was not working.

He said his party would implement a “proper workforce plan” that included partnering with employers and colleges to ensure a “clear pipeline” for workers.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar told reporters that he had a plan to fix Scotland’s NHS (Jane Barlow/PA) PA Media

He said: “Just last night, I was at an event and a mother of a nursing student was saying that she’s really worried about her child because there are some qualified nurses that she knows that aren’t then getting jobs in the NHS.

“That’s a ludicrous situation to be in where we’ve got a clear shortage of NHS staff, we’ve got a shortage of social care nurses, we’ve got a shortage of NHS nurses, and people are going through the course, and then not getting employment at the end of it.

“I think it shows you we’ve got a broken system under the SNP.

Unions have warned of a shortage of nurses in Scotland (Jeff Moore/PA) PA Media

“We’ve got to partner a proper workforce plan, partner our employers with our colleges so there is a clear pipeline of talent, opportunity and then jobs that flow from it, and that’s what we’re going to deliver.”

Data released in January under an FOI submitted by Labour found the NHS has spent more than £900 million on temporary consultants and nurses since 2019, which Labour said revealed a failure to recruit enough permanent staff.

The Royal College of Nursing has warned the country needs nearly 4,000 extra nurses to cope with demand.

The same union said last year that new recruits in Glasgow were struggling to find employment. It said more than half of Glasgow Caledonian University’s 200 students had been unable to find a placement within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Meanwhile, this week, GPs warned they are struggling to hire more doctors due to a lack of cash.

Speaking just before his visit to the college, Mr Sarwar said: “The NHS in Scotland would be on life support without its hardworking and dedicated staff, yet under the SNP that’s the direction we are heading.

“We will never solve the crisis in our NHS if operating theatres lie empty due to lack of surgeons and our students move to England because they can’t find training places at home.

“Scottish Labour will introduce a 10-year workforce plan that considers everything from encouraging students to study our much-needed specialisms to ensuring that trained specialists feel our NHS is somewhere they can learn and grow.

“Our NHS needs a new direction — Scottish Labour is ready to deliver it.”

The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.