Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019

1 Guiding principles for health and care staffing

(1) The guiding principles for health and care staffing are—

(a) that the main purposes of staffing for health care and care services are—

(i) to provide safe and high-quality services, and

(ii) to ensure the best health care or (as the case may be) care outcomes for service users,

(b) that, in so far as consistent with those main purposes, staffing for health care and care services is to be arranged while—

(i) improving standards and outcomes for service users,

(ii) taking account of the particular needs, abilities, characteristics and circumstances of different service users,

(iii) respecting the dignity and rights of service users,

(iv) taking account of the views of staff and service users,

(v) ensuring the wellbeing of staff,

(vi) being open with staff and service users about decisions on staffing,

(vii) allocating staff efficiently and effectively, and

(viii) promoting multi-disciplinary services as appropriate.

(2) In this Part—

• “care service” means a service mentioned in section 47(1) of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010,

• “health care” means a service for or in connection with the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of illness,

• “multi-disciplinary services” means health care or care services delivered together by individuals from such a range of professional disciplines as necessary in order to meet the needs of, and improve standards and outcomes for, service users,

• “service users” means individuals to whom or in relation to whom health care or a care service is provided,

• “standards and outcomes for service users” means—

  (a)

  in relation to health care, the standards and outcomes published by the Scottish Ministers under section 10H(1) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978, and

  (b)

  in relation to care services, the standards and outcomes published by the Scottish Ministers under section 50 of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010.