Nursing jobs: Efficiency savings should not be made at the expense of frontline posts

Figures today show that nursing and midwifery staff decreased by 550 whole time equivalent posts in the year up to 30 September 2010, whereas administrative services were reduced by 221 over the same period.

Murdo Fraser MSP, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health & Wellbeing, said:

"In 2009, under this SNP Government, administrators were recruited at four times the rate of nurses, and eight times the rate of doctors. Now we learn that more frontline posts are being lost than those of administrators. This is unacceptable and the situation must be reversed.

"Scottish Conservatives are committed to protecting the health budget, but we want to find efficiencies and divert funds to frontline services.

"There are other ways of freeing up money for better resourced frontline services – for example we want to see more Health Boards moving from brand name drugs to generic drugs, which would save a fortune. Also, Audit Scotland reports this year have made perfectly clear that we can make substantial efficiency savings without jeopardising our vital frontline services, such as cutting 15% off the locum budget through better planning and procurement. And gimmicks like free prescriptions for the wealthy are simply not affordable and must be scrapped.

"Efficiency savings should not be made at the expense of frontline posts."

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