NHS workers have raised 30,000 concerns about understaffing, figures show

NHS workers worry the health service is “dangerously understaffed”, the Scottish Liberal Democrats have warned, as figures reveal more than 30,000 concerns about staffing levels have been logged since 2018.

The statistics, which were obtained by the party through a freedom of information request, show 31,234 reports relating to short-staffing have been logged by staff in the NHS Datix system since April 2018.

In 2024/25 alone, the figure stood at 5,195, with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde seeing the highest number of concerns raised (1,690), followed by NHS Lothian (705).

This is up from the overall figure of 4,810 in 2023/24, but down compared with 7,116 in 2022/23, and 5,766 in 2021/22.

Datix is designed to collect and manage data on adverse events in the NHS, with staff encouraged to use it to report incidents including staffing issues.

Each Datix report triggers an email to reviewers and approvers – normally senior charge nurses and lead nurses – for the area affected by the staffing issue.

The figures come at the end of a week where a Royal College of Nursing survey showed more than a third of nurses are considering leaving the profession, with many citing concerns around staffing levels.

As of September, there were 2,800 vacancies in nursing in Scotland.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “Across the country, NHS staff worry that they are dangerously understaffed.

“The red flags they are formally recording 99 times a week point to patients waiting in pain and services pushed to breaking point.

“I’ve repeatedly pressed the Scottish Government about this but the situation has only got worse.

“Staff want to deliver top quality care, but nurses say unsafe care is being normalised and doctors say staff morale is at an all-time low.

“The Health Secretary has failed to give our hard-working NHS staff the beds, safe staffing and resources they desperately need.

“Scotland deserves better than this.

“My party has a realistic plan to get things done, delivering first-rate healthcare – so you can see your GP, dentist or mental health professional when you need them.

“We would train and retain the staff the NHS needs by fixing the broken workforce planning and help people leave hospital on time through a new minimum wage for care workers that is £2 higher.

“Unless we fix care services, we will never fix the NHS.

“Next May, wherever you are, every vote for the Scottish Liberal Democrats on your second, peach-coloured ballot paper will deliver change for our NHS with fairness at its heart.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Patient safety is our utmost priority and data published just this week shows NHS Scotland has a record high workforce of almost 162,000 whole-time equivalents, an increase of 27% since 2006.

“The efforts of those staff are enabling our NHS to turn a corner following the pandemic.

“Long waits of over a year have come down for the fifth month in a row and figures this week show the number of performed operations has reached its highest level since pre-pandemic in January 2020.

“We expect health boards to plan for their workforce in conjunction with their responsibilities under the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019, ensuring suitably qualified and competent individuals are working in appropriate numbers.”