NHS Tayside has defended its recruitment policy following yet more concerns over staff shortages at Perth Royal Infirmary (PRI).
The thorny issue has previously been raised by several Perthshire politicians and was recently discussed at a meeting of the Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Integration Joint Board.
At that meeting, Rob Packham, chief officer of the Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership, had asked for an update of the situation following media coverage of staff shortages at PRI. He was told there were “significant challenges” both locally and nationally in recruiting staff and that there was a consultation under way to address these issues.
And Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, who has previously criticised NHS Tayside for staff shortages at PRI, said she recognised it is a problem at the hospital.
“Recruiting the right levels of nursing and midwifery staff continues to be a problem right across Scotland and one which is acutely felt in Tayside, particularly at PRI,” she said.
“I know that those in charge are working hard to fill posts but the hard truth is that there are just too few nurses being trained across Scotland.”
She continued: “It is important that NHS Tayside remains an attractive destination for nurses and it is up to the Scottish Government to work in co-operation with the health board to properly incentivise staff to the area.
“NHS Tayside has been transparent about current issues and I hope that the new head of nursing at PRI can work with the board to tackle staffing shortages before they impact on patient care.”
However, George Doherty, director for human resources and organisational development for NHS Tayside, claimed the health body “actively recruits” to fill vacancies and said the issue is a national one, not just confined to Tayside.
“Patient care and safety is our primary concern,” he said.
“Patients and their families should be assured that staffing for all our services is in line with NHS Scotland’s nationally-recommended workforce levels.
“Like many other health boards, NHS Tayside has first-hand experience of the national shortage of nursing staff.
“In PRI, as part of an on-going recruitment drive, a head of nursing for medicine has recently been recruited, along with a number of nurses and healthcare support workers.
“NHS Tayside actively recruits to fill vacancies as they arise including at this time of the year, all new graduates. We recently attracted 211 new graduate nurses to Tayside.”
And Mr Packham added: “We sometimes need to make contingency plans for services when we face staff shortages or when there is change in demand. These are made to keep services safe and effective for the people who use them.”
