Nurse vacancies in Scotland drop by almost half
Nursing and midwifery vacancies in NHS Scotland have dropped by almost half in a year, according to latest figures.
While the Scottish Government has welcomed the statistics, unions have warned that there are still not enough nurses working in the health service to deliver safe patient care.
“We are a long way from having the staff needed to deliver the levels of safe, high quality care people should expect”
Norman Provan
The data, published yesterday by NHS Education for Scotland, showed that there were a total of 3,102 whole time equivalent (WTE) nursing and midwifery vacancies as of 30 June.
This is a 45% drop in vacancies compared to the same time last year, when there 5,616 WTE vacancies.
The data also showed that there was a total of 66,725 WTE nurses and midwives working in the health service – a 4% increase compared to June 2023.
However, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in Scotland has aired caution around the new figures, warning that there are still thousands of unfilled nursing posts in NHS Scotland.
Norman Provan, associate director of employment relations at RCN Scotland, said: “At no point has NHS Scotland employed the number of nursing staff it says it needs to deliver safe care and the number of registered nurses employed in Scotland’s care homes continues to fall.
“So while a reduction in the number of vacant posts is welcome, we are a long way from having the staff needed to deliver the levels of safe, high quality care people should expect.”
Mr Provan warned that nursing vacancies were having “a damaging impact on our members’ wellbeing”.
“This is why the Scottish Government must ensure the Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce delivers meaningful and sustainable change,” he added.
The ministerial taskforce was set up last year to address key issues in nursing recruitment and retention.
RCN Scotland has been urging the Scottish Government to make sure that the taskforce produces “funded, timely and meaningful actions”.
Separately, the NHS Education for Scotland data showed an increase in the number of medical and dental consultants, allied health professionals and administrative service workers.
The total number of WTE staff working in NHS Scotland stood at 160,065 in June 2024.
The Scottish Government said this showed an increase of 18% over the last decade, equivalent to 24,185 extra WTE staff.
Scotland’s health secretary, Neil Gray, said: “I welcome these workforce statistics, which show an annual growth in our overall NHS workforce.
“This includes increases to our nursing and midwifery staffing, medical and dental consultants and allied health professionals.”
Neil Gray
However, Mr Gray noted that growing the workforce alone “does not ensure improved performance or patient safety and experience”.
“It is through reform and diversification that we can progressively make better use of our workforce by improving the design of services and giving them the tools, technology and infrastructure they need,” he added.
However, the Scottish Liberal Democrats warned that the vacancy rate in the country was “still far too high”.
Party leader and health spokesperson, Alex Cole-Hamilton, said: “Staff are beyond breaking point – they are utterly exhausted and many feel they have no other option but to leave the profession entirely.
“If we are to avoid another winter crisis in our NHS, ministers need to plug the huge gaps in the workforce.”
