Guaranteed nursing jobs are part-time
GRADUATE nurses who have been waiting months for the Scottish Government to find them promised jobs have been told they will work for the NHS – but only part time.
Nearly 400 newly qualified nurses and midwives in Scotland have been unable to find employment because health boards are cutting staff to save money.
They turned to the Scottish Government’s one-year job guarantee scheme, which pledges to give all newly qualified nurses and midwives a contract for 12 months, overwhelming the process.
The number of applications to the scheme has never risen above double figures before. In 2009 it reached a high of 71. Since last summer, however, 380 graduates have registered and many have been in limbo for months while health officials worked out how to solve the problem.
Yesterday, Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon announced they would be offered part-time “internships” – working for health boards for 22-and-a-half hours a week.
One student nurse in Glasgow, who did not want to be named, told The Herald some of his peers had been recruited by English health authorities who had started head-hunting in the city. Others, he said, felt forced into taking a part-time contract.
He said: “When you are out of university you want to start earning money and you want a full-time contract. You have got bills, you have got a student loan, and you cannot pay them as well on a part-time salary.
“Part-time work straight out of university does not necessarily give you the chance to develop quickly either. You still have a lot to learn and only doing two days out of three does not give you enough time.”
However, he said he understood there were financial constraints. “It is better than nothing, given the alternative is no work at all,” he said.
The Royal College of Nursing Scotland and the Royal College of Midwives welcomed the internship solution. However, with NHS finances likely to be even tighter in the next financial year a number of questions remain about the future of newly qualified nurses.
Ellen Hudson, of the RCN Scotland, said graduates who took the jobs would be able to consolidate the skills learned at university.
However, she said she was concerned about what would happen once the 12-month contract finished if health boards continue to “reduce the number of available posts based on cost savings rather than need”.
It costs £45,000 to train a nurse and there is a danger this investment will be lost if the graduates face unemployment again in a year.
Ms Hudson added: “What are the implications for the services? Because if you over-stretch the workforce it’s not good news for patients.”
Ms Sturgeon said: “We have always guaranteed newly qualified nurses a job in the NHS, but due to a high number of applicants we have had to work hard to ensure that we can meet this commitment.
“I am pleased to say that the internship scheme will give newly trained nurses and midwives the opportunity to utilise their skills and gain additional experience in clinical practice.”
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