More than 700,000 nursing days lost due to mental health – Lib Dems

More than 700,000 days of nursing and midwifery staff time have been lost due to mental ill health since 2020, according to figures obtained by the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

Freedom of information data showed 762,975 days were lost across the 14 territorial health boards.

NHS Lanarkshire had the highest total in 2023/24, at 24,342 days lost.

Earlier this year, a survey from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland found 91% of nurses said that financial pressures are affecting their mental health.

Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said the government must take measures to tackle burnout among the workforce.

He said: “Ever since Nicola Sturgeon cut nursing training places and claimed that was somehow ‘sensible’, nursing staff have faced a raft of pressures.

“These figures show that many of them now feel completely overwhelmed.

“This matters because when nurses are stressed and run off their feet, they are in no position to provide the highest quality care for their patients.

“The Health Secretary is making things even worse by sticking with the government’s botched NHS Recovery Plan – a plan that is failing staff, patients and services every single day.

“Nurses and midwives need solutions, not yet more years of SNP mismanagement.”

The Scottish Government said specialist mental health support is available for nurses and midwives as well as a national wellbeing hub.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We are committed to understanding the issues affecting nursing and midwifery staff. The nursing and midwifery taskforce, informed by staff feedback through the listening project, will soon recommend actions to improve workplace culture, flexibility, recruitment, and retention.

“Staff wellbeing is our priority and we provide various support services for nurses and midwives nationally. In addition, the Health and Care Staffing Act was introduced in April 2024 which promotes high quality care and improved outcomes for service users and further support the wellbeing of health and care staff.”