24 August 2026
by Rab Armour
Scottish Care warns workforce sustainability is being threatened
Scotland’s social care nursing workforce is under growing strain.
Rising clinical complexity, recruitment problems, staff stress and mounting administration, are threatening the sector, a new Scottish Care report has warned.
The Scottish Care Nursing Workforce Survey 2026, launched at the Scottish Care Nursing Conference today, says nurses working in social care are playing a vital role in supporting people with increasingly complex needs, but that pressure on the workforce is threatening long-term sustainability.
The survey found 62% of providers reported difficulties recruiting nurses, while 97% said care complexity or acuity had increased over the past year. Nurse stress levels were described as consistently or increasingly challenging by 87% of respondents, and more than half said international recruitment had become harder.
Providers also pointed to heavier workloads, greater administrative demands and wider workforce pressures as major challenges.
Despite the pressures, providers described social care nurses as central to care quality, clinical leadership, workforce support and service resilience.
Professor Donald Macaskill, chief executive of Scottish Care, said: "This report presents a picture of a highly skilled, committed and resilient workforce that continues to deliver exceptional care in increasingly challenging circumstances.
"Social care nurses are supporting people with greater complexity, higher levels of frailty and more advanced clinical needs than ever before. Yet recruitment remains difficult, workforce pressures continue and too many nurses feel their contribution is insufficiently recognised.
"Scotland rightly wants to support more people to live well in their communities and receive care closer to home. But that ambition will not be realised without recognising and investing in the social care nursing workforce that is already delivering much of that care every day.
"Social care nursing is not an optional extra within the system. It is essential infrastructure for the future of health and social care in Scotland."
The report also raises concerns about the impact of immigration and sponsorship arrangements on workforce sustainability. More than half of respondents using international recruitment said it had become more difficult in the past year, with Home Office practices identified as the most significant barrier.
Professor Macaskill added: "International nurses make an invaluable contribution to social care services across Scotland. The evidence from this survey suggests that current Home Office processes and immigration requirements are making recruitment more difficult at precisely the time providers are facing growing workforce pressures.
"We need an immigration system that recognises the realities of social care, supports ethical international recruitment and values the contribution overseas nurses make to the people and communities they serve."
Scottish Care is calling for social care nursing to be recognised in national workforce planning, alongside greater investment in nursing development and leadership, stronger routes into the profession and a reduction in administrative burden.
The organisation also wants more consistent professional partnership across health and social care, and a more sustainable approach to international recruitment.
Social care nurses under growing strain - TFN
The above information is from a Third Force News (TFN) Weekly Health & Social Care roundup Newsletter Wed 26/08/2026