Nursing Workforce Seminar: Global Perspectives and Local Insights

A nursing workforce seminar will be held in LRC5 at Sighthill Campus on 18 September 2 - 4.30pm. event graphic

We will have  from the University of Pennsylvania and Dame Professor  from King's College London as keynote speakers.  will also share the initial qualitative findings of the Nurses4Scotland survey (survey details provided below.)

Other Scottish universities and NHS Lothian partners are also invited and an invite has been extended to civil servants at Scottish government.

You will have the option to attend either in-person or online.

  • We are limited to 70 people at the in-person event and refreshments will be provided. We will endeavour to cater to any dietary requirements if attending in person, please specify any requirements when booking your in-person ticket below. 
  • If attending online, we will email you the link to join in advance.

Safe Nurse Staffing for Scotland (Nurses4Scotland): A Cross-Sectional Observational Study

This study is by  and Dr Iain Atherton from 麻豆社区 in collaboration with  from the University of Pennsylvania, USA.

Background Nurse in discussion with mother and child  

This study lays the groundwork to evaluate safe nurse staffing in Scotland. It aims to measure nurse staffing and adherence to proposed standards at the moment of implementation of the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019. The main aim of this study is to provide a snapshot of current nursing standards adherence, staffing levels, work environments, and intent to leave when the Act is initially implemented to establish a baseline for future comparison to assess impact of this legislation.

The implementation of the Act has far-reaching implications for all clinical staff across healthcare settings in Scotland. This landmark legislation mandates specific methods and duties with regards to staffing levels to ensure the delivery of safe and high-quality patient care. While the Act impacts all clinical staff, the focus of this research is primarily on nursing and nursing support staff, recognizing its central role in patient care and the unique responsibilities and challenges nurses face alongside a workforce shortage. This focus is justified by the fact that nurses and nursing support staff constitute the largest proportion of the NHS Scotland workforce and is also the profession with the highest number of vacancies (NHS Scotland 2023).

Our objective is to:

  • Determine nursing standards adherence, staffing levels, work environments, and intent to leave at the initial implementation of the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019.

At the study's conclusion, the findings and outputs will be used in developing future collaborations with Dr. Lake and colleagues at the , University of Pennsylvania, to further investigate the Act's impact. This study constitutes a significant contribution to the CHOPR project , which aims to generate evidence on nursing to shape policy and improve outcomes for all.

Share your experience to help Scotland's safe staffing legislation 

Understanding your experience today, as a registered nurse or nursing support worker working in the NHS or social care, will help us measure compliance with the requirements of the legislation and the difference the legislation makes for patients, our members, and the wider health and social care workforce over the longer term. 

Taking part in the study will not take up much of your time (7-10 minutes) and your contribution will help us to gain an understanding of current adherence to nursing standards, staffing levels, work environments, and career aspiration sat the point of implementation of the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019.

The survey is open to all registered nurses and nursing support workers working in the NHS/social care in Scotland. Your help in completing the survey and in sharing the link with colleagues is much appreciated.