Recruitment drive needed after male nursing numbers drop to new low
A recruitment drive to attract more male nurses needs to be launched after numbers dropped to a seven-year low, the Scottish Conservatives have said.
Despite a general increase in overall nursing numbers, the number of male nurses has been on a downward trajectory.
Last year, there were 6924 male nurses registered to work in Scottish hospitals, a reduction of 49 from 2016.
The numbers reached a high of 7168 in 2014.
In contrast, there are now 65,044 nurses overall, a figure that has increased steadily since 2011.
It means around one in 10 of Scotland’s nurses is male.
Shadow health secretary Miles Briggs said males needed to “man up” and consider a job in nursing, something which could help address future recruitment challenges.
Last year, nursing vacancies reached record levels, while the workforce edges closer to a retirement boom.
Scottish Conservative shadow health secretary Miles Briggs said:
“This is clearly a cultural problem, and probably one that exists in many parts of the world.
“But we can make efforts to change that now, to persuade males contemplating career options to man up and go into nursing.
“It would diversify the workforce, something that’s always worth doing, but more importantly help address the recruitment crisis now and in future.
“There is absolutely no reason why men can’t go into nursing, and the days of thinking otherwise are long gone.
“I hope the SNP government considers a recruitment drive of this sort, and it’s something we’d be happy to support fully.”