Safe Nurse Staffing for Scotland (Nurses4Scotland): A Cross-Sectional Observational Study
This study is by Dr Azwa Shamsuddin and Dr Iain Atherton from Edinburgh Napier University in collaboration with Professor Eileen Lake from the University of Pennsylvania, USA.
Background 
This study lays the groundwork to evaluate safe nurse staffing in Scotland. It aims to measure nurse staffing and adherence to proposed standards at the moment of implementation of the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019. The main aim of this study is to provide a snapshot of current nursing standards adherence, staffing levels, work environments, and intent to leave when the Act is initially implemented to establish a baseline for future comparison to assess impact of this legislation.
The implementation of the Act has far-reaching implications for all clinical staff across healthcare settings in Scotland. This landmark legislation mandates specific methods and duties with regards to staffing levels to ensure the delivery of safe and high-quality patient care. While the Act impacts all clinical staff, the focus of this research is primarily on nursing and nursing support staff, recognizing its central role in patient care and the unique responsibilities and challenges nurses face alongside a workforce shortage. This focus is justified by the fact that nurses and nursing support staff constitute the largest proportion of the NHS Scotland workforce and is also the profession with the highest number of vacancies (NHS Scotland 2023).
Our objective is to:
- Determine nursing standards adherence, staffing levels, work environments, and intent to leave at the initial implementation of the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019.
At the study's conclusion, the findings and outputs will be used in developing future collaborations with Dr. Lake and colleagues at the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research (CHOPR), University of Pennsylvania, to further investigate the Act's impact. This study constitutes a significant contribution to the CHOPR project Nurses4All, which aims to generate evidence on nursing to shape policy and improve outcomes for all.
Share your experience to help Scotland's safe staffing legislation
Understanding your experience today, as a registered nurse or nursing support worker working in the NHS or social care, will help us measure compliance with the requirements of the legislation and the difference the legislation makes for patients, our members, and the wider health and social care workforce over the longer term.
Taking part in the study will not take up much of your time (7-10 minutes) and your contribution will help us to gain an understanding of current adherence to nursing standards, staffing levels, work environments, and career aspiration sat the point of implementation of the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019.
The survey is open to all registered nurses and nursing support workers working in the NHS/social care in Scotland. Your help in completing the survey and in sharing the link with colleagues is much appreciated.