Current status: Answered by Neil Gray on 1 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to action 36 of the Ministerial Scottish Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce report, Delivering Together for a Stronger Nursing and Midwifery Workforce, whether it will provide an update on (a) progress made on the development of alternative entry routes into nursing and midwifery, including part-time routes and (b) any timeline that has been set for the roll-out of new entry routes.
The Scottish Government recognises that widening access into nursing and midwifery programmes is important to grow the number of nurses and midwives in our health and social care workforce. That is why we value the important role colleges play in widening access for students into higher education and into health professions.
The Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce set out a number of recommended actions which are being progressed at pace to develop alternative entry routes and consider the barriers and enablers to attracting students to nursing and midwifery professions. This includes, work on improving the existing Higher National Certificate (HNC) in Healthcare Practice for Nursing and the development of a HNC for Maternity which will more consistently support entry into Year 1 of Nursing and Midwifery degree programmes, and direct articulation into Year 2 Nursing degree programmes. This will be progressed in collaboration with identified higher education institutions.