A shortage of student nurses could threaten the future of independent care in Scotland, a new report has warned.
Fife is among the Scottish regions said to be facing “particular difficulties” in attracting new people to the profession, according to trade body Scottish Care.
Speaking ahead of the report’s launch, Dr Donald Macaskill, chief executive of Scottish Care, said nearly a third of nursing posts are vacant, forcing care home operators to increasingly rely on agencies to fill their nursing rotas.
“Last year we reported that we were facing significant challenge in relation to the shortage of nurses working in our care homes, he said.
“Despite strenuous efforts matters have got even worse in 2017 and we are now at the stage of many care homes being placed at real risk in terms of their survival.
“Paying exorbitant agency fees to plug a continuing gap is wholly unsustainable. Urgent short-term measures are needed, and require us to work with Scottish Government and other partners, to find solutions to this challenge.”
As well as Fife, care facilities in Edinburgh and Aberdeenshire are also said to be experiencing difficulties in attracting new staff.
Hinting that recruitment from abroad post-Brexit could cause further problems, Dr Macaskill added: “The report also found that there has been a huge increase in turnover.
“Coupled with the already negative impacts of Brexit there are growing pressures on our abilities to staff nursing posts now and into the future.
“Unless we are to be faced with more and more people stuck in hospital we need to seriously invest in nursing provision in Scotland’s care home sector.”
