University funding crisis 'threatens viability of NHS workforce'

The Council of Deans of Health (CoDH) Scotland, which represents the 12 universities that educate and train Scotland’s nurses, midwives and allied health professionals, said it had written to every major political party ahead of the Holyrood election.

It pointed to the “mounting pressures” facing health education and research north of the border.

“Scottish universities are facing acute financial pressures that threaten the viability of healthcare programmes essential to the NHS,” it said.

The CoDH said a sustainable funding model and proactive measures to boost recruitment are critical to securing the future of Scotland’s health services.

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“Despite Scotland offering generous financial support packages for students in controlled subjects, enrolment for nursing remains far below the level required to sustain the future workforce,” it said.

“There has also been a sharp fall in the number of applicants to midwifery programmes. We are calling on a comprehensive review to identify and address barriers to entry.”

The body said the “shortage of healthcare educators, complicated by funding pressures and redundancies, is a bottleneck in our ability to train the next generation of healthcare professionals”.

It added: “In Scotland, there is a critical shortage of support for early career researchers and postgraduate study, which threatens the pipeline of future research leaders.”

It said it was “committed to working in partnership with all political parties to secure an NHS workforce equipped for the future”.

An SNP spokesman said: "We've increased funding for our universities this year, but the underlying issue here is Brexit and a Westminster immigration system that has failed Scotland time and again.

“That basic fact is something none of the Westminster parties are willing to contend with.

“Brexit has hammered our world-class universities – it has seen us turn away world leading scientists and made student recruitment even more challenging.

"But the SNP is determined to ensure a prosperous future for our universities - and will always protect free tuition."

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Scottish Conservative education spokesperson Miles Briggs said universities are under “severe financial strain due to the SNP's failure to properly support them over the last two decades”.

He said: "This is threatening the viability of vital programmes such as midwifery and nursing and that will have a devastating knock-on effect for the health service.

"SNP ministers should get their heads out of the sand and finally work with universities to address this growing crisis."

Scottish Labour education spokesperson Paul O’Kane said: “The SNP is piling financial pressure on universities due to their reckless mismanagement of our higher education sector.

“Their abject failure to grow Scotland’s economy has left us all poorer and ordinary Scots are paying the price.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie said: “The finances of our world-renowned universities are under significant pressure.

“As this letter points out, those pressures could have a harmful impact on the future of our NHS.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats have made significant progress in getting parties around the table to secure the future of our universities sector and protect it from global shocks.

“We would build on this progress by valuing public investment and creating the right conditions for universities to successfully compete for UK-wide research funding.”