PRESS RELEASE
May 21st, 2010
CMU fears over health cuts
Greenock and Inverclyde MSP Duncan McNeil is pressing the health secretary Nicola Sturgeon for answers over the nursing crisis which is undermining the future of Inverclyde Royal maternity unit.
The health secretary failed to give assurances over the CMU’s future when quizzed by the local MSP in the Scottish Parliament.
After ducking the question, the MSP will now write to the Health Secretary and ask her to spell out exactly what her cuts will mean for Inverclyde.
Mr McNeil said: “I was disappointed that the health secretary missed the opportunity to reassure my constituents about the future of the community maternity unit.
“The cuts at the health board are very worrying and clearly undermine the hard work that has went into health service in Inverclyde.
“The people of Inverclyde would appreciate some clarity from the Cabinet Secretary and I don’t feel as if we got that this week.
“But I will continue to press Nicola Sturgeon to come clean and spell out exactly what this agenda of cuts that has been planned for some time will mean for local maternity unit.”
ENDS
5. Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Government how successful the one-year job guarantee scheme has been in finding positions for newly qualified midwives. (S3O-10592)
The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing (Nicola Sturgeon): The one-year job guarantee scheme has been successful in helping a number of newly qualified midwives to find jobs since it was introduced in 2002. So far in 2010, 36 midwives have applied to the scheme for support in finding a position. Details of the exact number of midwives who found positions through the scheme is not available, as newly qualified midwives often secure a post through their own means after they have registered with the scheme.
Duncan McNeil: From my previous questions and correspondence the cabinet secretary will know about my concerns about health boards that have not activated the one-year guarantee scheme. As a result, increasing numbers of newly qualified midwives are seeking positions outwith Scotland. That raises concerns about the balance of the workforce in future years. With last week's news that more than 600 nursing staff are now facing redundancy, can she assure my constituents that the actions by the health board will have no impact on the short-term or long-term future of the community midwife unit at Inverclyde royal hospital?
Nicola Sturgeon: I am sure that Duncan McNeil would not want to mislead the chamber or anyone who works so hard in our national health service, so I say to him that no nurse and no person working in the NHS faces losing their job. Nobody faces redundancy, because the NHS has a policy of no compulsory redundancies. I hope that he will appreciate that.
The guarantee scheme is just that. It guarantees a one-year post for those nurses and midwives who cannot find a job through their own means. What is does not necessarily guarantee is a job in the person's health board or specialty of choice. It is about allowing newly qualified staff to gain posts and allowing health boards to fill their vacancies.
If Duncan McNeil has specific cases in which his constituents feel that the scheme has not worked for them in the way that it is meant to, I would be more than happy to look into them for him.