FIRST Minister Nicola Sturgeon set out plans yesterday to make minimum safe staffing levels in NHS hospitals a legal requirement in Scotland.

Ahead of a speech today at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) congress in Glasgow, Ms Sturgeon said: “Scotland has led Britain in the development of mandatory nursing and midwifery workload” and praised “workforce planning tools that help health boards plan for the number of staff they require.”

She promised to “enshrine these planning tools in law and examine what other areas of the workforce would benefit from having similar tools developed, which will further strengthen our commitment to patient safety in our wards.”

Chief nursing officer Professor Fiona McQueen welcomed the commitment, saying there was a “well established” link “between between safe and sustainable staffing levels — including qualified nurse numbers — and high-quality care.”Ms McQueen said adequate numbers of staff with the right skills were “vital.”

Scottish Labour health spokesman Anas Sarwar also welcomed the “worthwhile commitment” from the Scottish government. But he warned that it “has to be backed up by the adequate funding so it can actually be delivered” as NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde alone faces cuts of £69 million.

Mr Sarwar blasted the SNP’s “poor” record on NHS staffing levels, saying health workers “are increasingly being asked to do more with less” and that “just one-third of our hard-working and dedicated NHS staff think they have enough colleagues to do their job properly.”

He added that “cuts to funding for student nurses when Nicola Sturgeon was health minister are also having an impact on our NHS today.”