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New national workforce strategy for health and social care published

  • Area of Work: The ALLIANCE
  • Type: News Item
  • Published: 14th March 2022

The Scottish Government and COSLA have published a joint vision for Scotland's health and social care workforce.

A new National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care in Scotland has been published (this link will take you away from our website) by the Scottish Government and COSLA, the umbrella body for Scottish local government. At the heart of the strategy is a threefold ambition to recover from COVID-19, grow the health and social care workforce sustainably, and transform the ways in which the workforce is trained, equipped and organised.

The strategy is based on five pillars:

  • Plan, improving collection and analysis of data, and taking a whole-system approach to planning.
  • Attract, bringing new workers into the workforce including through both domestic and ethical international recruitment, via youth employability and apprenticeship schemes, and by offering fair work.
  • Train, supporting new entry to the workforce through clear education pathways, and developing new skills and capabilities amongst workers including in digital and specialist care.
  • Employ, ensuring that staff are well rewarded for their work, with modernised terms and conditions, and appropriate registration to support delivery of outcomes-focused work.
  • Nurture, creating positive workplace cultures and ensuring strong leadership, committing to diversity, equality and inclusion in the workforce, ensuring workplace safety, developing a carers strategy and working in partnership across the sector.

Amongst the hoped-for outcomes flowing from the strategy are to address backlogs in healthcare and increase capacity, improving the mental health and wellbeing of the workforce, investment in community-based care, and reducing drug-related deaths.

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