Spare a thought on Christmas Day as you sit down to watch the Queen’s speech or prepare to tuck into your turkey, for all the care workers who are putting the needs of others before themselves this festive season. It is estimated that a staggering 176,000 care workers in the…

A health trust has been fined £300,000 after two nurses were stabbed by a patient at a medium secure psychiatric unit.The staff suffered life-threatening injuries when patient Myha Grant ran amok at the Bracton Centre near Dartford in Kent on July 17 2016.Mr Grant forced his way into a kitchen…

Scotland will recruit an extra 80 mental health professionals to work with children and young people with a £4 million investment.Psychologists, nurses, allied health professionals and administration workers are being hired to try and reduce the pressure on Scottish mental health services.The funding announcement coincides with the publication of a…

Health officials lack a clear post Brexit recruitment plan which could exacerbate current medical staff shortages, MPs have said in a report that also warns that the NHS faces regional funding pressures.The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said it had not been reassured by a Department of Health and Social Care…

Scottish councils’ allocations in the draft budget put at risk the delivery of essential services next year, according to local government body Cosla.Total funding for both the revenue and capital budget in the settlement is up more than £210 million, with overall Scottish Government support to local authorities at £11.1…

Squeezed funding and staff shortages are creating "extremely fragile" home care services, a report has warned.A leading think tank and a university said fees for home care services are too low to maintain quality services for the more than 400,000 older and disabled people who need daily help with washing,…

A planned strike by workers at the Shelter charity has been called off after a new pay deal was accepted.Members of the Unite union were due to walk out for three days from Tuesday but last-ditch talks have helped secure a deal.Unite said it had secured a "vastly improved" 4%…

The Government is being urged to lower the retirement age for ambulance staff to 60 to bring them into line with other emergency services workers.A 250,000-name petition was handed to the Health Department in London calling for the current retirement age of 67 to be changed.The petition was started by…

The UK Government will not allow Holyrood ministers to pay £65 settled status fees for European citizens who are working in Scotland’s public services, Nicola Sturgeon has said.The First Minister has already promised her government would pick up the cost for NHS staff and other public-sector workers who have come…

The Health Secretary has committed to adding day-to-day assessments of staff needs into new legislation aimed at ensuring safe numbers of healthcare workers.Holyrood unanimously passed the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Bill at the first stage on Thursday, with cross-party support.The legislation was put forward following concerns about staffing levels…

Proposed new legislation to enshrine safe levels of health and care staff in law is expected to pass its first hurdle at Holyrood later.The Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Bill was put forward following concerns about staffing levels and workforce planning in the NHS and by care providers.If passed, the…

A project to recruit more nursery staff from ethnic minorities has been launched by the Scottish Government.The £140,000 scheme aims to increase the diversity of the early learning and childcare (ELC) workforce while attempting to recruit enough staff to deliver the near-doubling of free childcare.It has been estimated up to…