NHS workers reported staffing issues 18,800 times in five years, figures show

Workers in the NHS have reported staffing issues to bosses almost 19,000 times in the past five years, new figures show.

Statistics seen by the Scottish Liberal Democrats after a freedom of information request show workers in 12 of the country’s 14 health boards reported 18,840 instances of short staffing through the Datix system.

It is not clear if multiple members of staff can file a report for the same instance.

The exact figure is likely to be higher as NHS Highland and NHS Forth Valley did not provide the data.

Reports appeared to peak in most boards as a result of the pandemic, with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde – the largest in the country – jumping from 608 reports in 2020-21 to 2,428 in 2021-22, while NHS Lothian went from 297 to 779.

The issue was raised by Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton during First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, when he challenged Humza Yousaf not to blame the figures on the pandemic.

“I wonder if the First Minister realises just how angry he makes NHS workers when he blames that crisis on the pandemic?” he said.

“It was exploding long before anyone had heard of Covid-19.

“Can I ask the First Minister, aren’t the royal colleges correct in their belief that irrespective of the pandemic, neglect by Scottish ministers has left this health service in a terrible state?”

Mr Yousaf said he does not agree with the Lib Dem leader.

“There’s no doubt that there are vacancies within the NHS, but if I look at the SNP in Government, we have around 29,100 whole-time equivalents more working in the NHS that when we first took office,” the First Minister added.

“Of course there were challenges pre-pandemic, but he cannot ignore the pandemic, which has been the biggest shock the NHS has faced in its nearly 75-year existence.

“There’s no doubt at all that when we had multiple waves of the pandemic, that was affecting the NHS in terms of the number of people who were having to go to hospital due to Covid or with Covid, but also of course affected staff, who would have to isolate at home or stay at home because they were themselves infected with Covid.

“So we’ll continue to focus on ensuring that we don’t just have high levels of staffing… in the NHS, we’ll also ensure they continue to be the best paid anywhere in the UK.”