Scottish NHS workforce reduces from record high last year

There has been a decrease in the overall number of staff employed by the NHS in Scotland, the latest workforce figures show.

In the year to March, the workforce fell by 0.4% to 156,178.7 whole-time equivalent (WTE) roles, with the previous year being the highest level recorded to date.

Workforce statistics published on Tuesday also show the sickness absence rate in Scotland’s NHS increased to its highest-ever level at 6.2%.

In the year to March, the sickness absence rate increased by 0.5 percentage points. Covid-related absences are included in these figures.

The nursing and midwifery staff group – which is the largest in the NHS – saw a drop of 0.9% to 64,642.9 WTE roles in the year before March 2023.

The Scottish Government said the figures reflect the extra staff who were brought in during the coronavirus pandemic are now leaving the workforce.

A Government spokeswoman said: “The workforce is the most important asset of the NHS and staffing has grown by more than 17% in the last decade.

“Last year we recruited a record number of trainee doctors, and the number of available medical school places at Scottish universities has increased by 55% in the last eight years.

“These annual figures are the first to show additional staff brought in during the pandemic, such as for Test and Protect services and vaccinations, leaving the workforce.

“Spending on agency nursing increased during Covid as boards relaxed some controls on temporary staffing to ensure enough staff were available to keep wards, patients and staff safe.

“New controls have now been put in place and we expect to see agency costs coming down.

“We committed to making our NHS an attractive place to work, which is why we’ve ensured that our Agenda for Change staff are the best paid anywhere in the UK.”

The RCN Scotland union said there are still thousands of nursing vacancies at health boards across Scotland.

Associate director Eileen Mckenna said: “Thousands of registered nurses are missing from teams across Scotland, impacting on the safety and quality of patient care and putting even more pressure on staff who are already working extra unpaid hours to cover gaps and going home feeling that they are unable to provide the quality of care they want.

“To fill these gaps in the nursing workforce, the reliance on agency staff has increased dramatically, costing a staggering £170 million last year.

“While some investment in bank and agency nursing will always be needed to cover unexpected events and ensure safe patient care, it is not the solution to the workforce crisis and the huge increase in spend is simply not sustainable.”