Nurse stress levels ‘should be a wake-up call to SNP’

Published on 02/11/2012 12:43

RECORD levels of stress among Lothian’s nurses should be a wake-up call to Alex Salmond and his colleagues, Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie claimed – as she waved a copy of yesterday’s Evening News during First Minister’s Questions in the Scottish Parliament.

After asking about budget reductions and financial pressures on the NHS across Scotland, Ms Baillie said: “The cuts to nursing numbers of over 2500 are having a direct impact not just on patient care, but on nurses themselves.

“Today in the Evening News we find 17,500 working days are lost among nurses alone due to stress in NHS Lothian - a record high. Is this not a wake-up call for the SNP and for the First Minister?”

Mr Salmond said sickness absence rates across the NHS were much lower than when Labour was in government.

And he added: “On every indicator the NHS in Scotland is performing at record levels.”