10 February 2016

The NHS in Scotland will receive a boost of £27 million to attract and retain the best talent into the healthcare profession whatever their background.

FM @NicolaSturgeon announces £27m to attract and retain the best talent into the NHS. https://t.co/rFjvqOr1p9 pic.twitter.com/zr6sfOoagG

— First Minister (@ScotGovFM) February 10, 2016

Speaking to an audience of healthcare and nursing students at Queen Margaret University in Musselburgh, the First Minister set out her vision for a modern NHS, including:

• Funding of £3 million to train an additional 500 advanced nurse practitioners to bolster the skills of the profession and equip nurses across Scotland to maximise their leading role in the integrated health care of the future.
• Over £23 million investment to increase the number of medical school places and widen access to medical schools with a new entry level programme for those from deprived backgrounds, and the first Scottish graduate entry programme for medicine that will support students who work in the Scottish NHS after they qualify.
• The retention of a nursing and midwifery bursary, which alongside free tuition fees for student nurses and midwives will help attract the best people to train for nursing and midwifery roles.
• The launch of a discretionary fund of at least £1 million for nursing and midwifery students experiencing financial hardship to provide a ‘safety net’ that will help them continue their studies.

Good to see 1st Minister using @QMUniversity for announcement that marks distinctiveness of Scottish #HRH strategy https://t.co/L69SJkEqAr

— Alastair Ager (@AlastairAger) February 10, 2016

The First Minister told the packed lecture theatre that the Scottish Government will make the NHS “fit for the future”.

“There is no doubt in my mind that this – the second decade of the 21st century – is a pivotal moment for health care and healthcare systems, not just in Scotland but around the world.

“An ageing population, a shift to more multidisciplinary working and rapid advances in research and technology – to cite just some of the trends we see – present challenges and opportunities that the founders of the NHS could scarcely have imagined.

“It is the decisions we take today – on research, on the organisation of our NHS, on the relationship between and investments in social, community, primary and secondary care, and on the education and training of the health and social care workforce of the future – that will determine how well our health service responds to these challenges and opportunities.

“As First Minister, I am determined that we take the decisions – including the tough decisions – that will ensure that our health and care services are fit for the future.”

You can read the First Minister’s full speech on the Scottish Government website.

Watch the video here: