Frontline First - Scotland

Over each of the next three years*, it’s been estimated  that the public sector in Scotland will have to save £1 billion each year.

Despite the rhetoric from politicians about protecting our health service, we all know that NHS Scotland is going to have to save money, now and into the future. Increasing pressure on health board budgets, from spiralling drug costs and rising demand on services, for example, means that the funding health boards receive is not even going to be enough to cover their costs this year – despite a modest budget uplift from the Scottish Government.

So across Scotland, health boards are already looking at ways to cut costs to balance their books in 2010-2011 – more than 1,500 WTE nursing and midwifery posts are already under threat, as part of health boards’ attempts to save at least £250 million this year.

Across the UK, the NHS is facing similar pressures. That’s why the RCN has launched Frontline First:, to build a holistic picture of what’s going on across the country and to monitor the impact of cost-cutting measures on staff and patients.

The campaign will enable you, our members, to tell us where services are being cut and to share your innovative ideas with us.  Wherever you work, you know best what’s happening on the ground.

 - You’re in a position to see firsthand the cuts that are being made in your local area and how they’re affecting you, your colleagues and patients

 - You know best where there’s waste in the system and where money could be saved in your area of practice.

We want to hear from you.

We need your feedback to make sure that the looming cuts to services and jobs are backed up by clinical evidence and based on good nursing practice, rather than short term, cost-cutting measures, which will undermine patient care.

So take a few minutes to let us know what’s happening in your area, so that, together, we can help protect services and improve care.