Worry over lack of jobs for newly qualified nurses

Jan 20 2011 by Leona Greenan, Hamilton Advertiser

ONLY six newly-qualified nurse graduates have been employed by NHS Lanarkshire in the last nine months.

New figures show a huge decline in jobs being filled when compared to 40 graduates being taken on over a 12-month period in 2009/10 by the NHS Trust.

In 2008/09, 78 graduates were employed by NHS Lanarkshire.

The news comes after it was claimed more than 300 graduate nurses have been unable to find work in Scotland in the last 12 months.

As health boards across the country are slashing budgets, the knock-on effect is worrying for nursing graduates.

Many newly-qualified nurses feel they may be forced to leave the Lanarkshire area and seek employment in England or even abroad, while others fear their skills and training will go to waste.

Hamilton’s University of the West of Scotland (UWS) has a School of Health, Nursing and Midwifery offering Higher Education Diploma and Degree level in adult nursing and mental health nursing and midwifery at degree level.

Paul Martin, executive dean of the faculty of education, health and social sciences at UWS Hamilton campus, explained the situation this week.

The former chief nursing officer for Scotland said: “The general picture is that across Scotland and beyond, health services are changing to seek to support more patients in their own homes and to preven, when possible, admission to hospital.

“When this is required, patients should still expect and will receive a high standard of care. Within all of this, patients who do require hospital attention are finding they are now in hospital for much shorter periods of time than previously.

“With this in mind, health boards have been faced with a change in shape of services and a change in shape of demand and therefore a change in shape of workforce needed.

“Here at UWS however, we work closely with health boards in Scotland so we understand such changes and can tailor our graduates’ training so our students are best placed to find employment.”

An NHS Lanarkshire spokesperson added: “Newly-qualified nurse graduates can register with NHS Lanarkshire’s nurse bank, BankAide, which provides temporary staffing in areas where there are short-term staff shortages.

“By registering with BankAide, new nurse graduates can gain vital experience in a wide range of different clinical specialities, improving their skills and increasing their chances of permanent employment.

“Many of the newly-qualified nurse graduates who register with BankAide go on to permanent employment within NHS Lanarkshire.

“NHS Lanarkshire is currently working very closely with the Scottish Government and NHS Education for Scotland with regards to meeting obligations under the One-Year Job Guarantee Scheme for newly-qualified nurses and midwives.”

However, it has been claimed the One-Year Job Guarantee Scheme is becoming overwhelmed with an increasing amount of graduates looking for work.

And with nursing and midwifery courses set to finish within the next few weeks, the situation looks set to only get worse.