NHS in Scotland losing 10 staff every day
Alarm bells over staffing levels are becoming louder at nurses' unions. Picture: Phil Wilkinson
The number of staff working in the NHS in Scotland has dropped by more than 3,600 in a year, prompting fears about the potential effect on services.
New statistics reveal that since September last year the number of whole-time posts in the NHS workforce have dropped by 3,624 to 131,339 – including a fall of 1,569 nursing and midwifery roles.
Scottish Labour pointed out that the past two years had seen almost 4,500 posts “haemorrhage” from the Scottish NHS, including more than 2,000 nurses and midwives.
However, the Scottish Government said that since September 2006 there had been an overall increase of 4,277 jobs in the health service.
In August, health boards revealed they were planning to reduce staff numbers by more than 2,000 in 2011-12, on top of 3,000-plus who went during the previous financial year, as the financial squeeze forced managers to revisit their budgets.
Yesterday, health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said the falling staff numbers, published by Information Services Division Scotland, were in line with projected changes.
She said they also reflected changes in the way the NHS worked, with more care provided in the community and less time spent in hospital.
Ms Sturgeon said: “The NHS doesn’t stand still. It is currently in a period of transition as the balance of care shifts towards more community care and shorter hospital stays.
“The shape and size of the workforce reflects that transition. I fully understand that changes to the NHS workforce will always be a source of potential concern, and it is therefore vital that changes continue to be considered in partnership with staff and that they are informed by rigorous workforce planning.”
The figures showed the total number in the workforce measured as whole-time equivalent (WTE) – essentially a full-time role – at the end of September was 131,339, compared with 134,964 at the same time in 2010.
The headcount figure – including full and part-time workers – dropped 4,213 to 154,541 from 158,754 during the same period.
Nursing and midwifery staff were among those who saw the biggest drop, of 1,569 WTE posts to 56,309, and a drop in the headcount figure of 1,811.
There was also a drop of 1,218 WTE posts in administration staff, to 24,667 in September.
The Scottish Government said other groups had seen an increase in staffing, including consultants, dentists, pharmacists and psychologists, with numbers rising by 541 WTE posts.
Royal College of Nursing Scotland director Theresa Fyffe expressed concern at the continued cuts to staff, saying: “True to their word, health boards are cutting the number of nurses they employ, as they set out their workforce projections for the financial year.
“As a result, the number of nursing staff working in our NHS is at its lowest level since 2006.
“Health boards are in the unenviable position of having to balance their books and make savings at the same time. This is resulting in cuts to the nursing workforce – the backbone of the NHS – so they can save money on their wage bills, yet at the same time Scotland’s population is getting older and living longer with complex conditions, so healthcare demand is going up.
“These cuts are not only bad news for patient care, but mean the remaining staff in the NHS are increasingly overstretched.
“Our most recent survey of members in the NHS found that half reported they were too busy to provide the standard of care they would like to.”
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Edinburgh
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
Comments
There are 4 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
Buford Van Stomm
Tuesday, March 20, 2012 at 01:02 PMdon't panic everyone....the 3billion per year community health partnership structure are currently devising reports to counter the painful truth on behalf of SNP who are paying them and can demand whatever tune they chose....
Buford Van Stomm
Tuesday, March 20, 2012 at 12:57 PMdon't panic everyone....the 3billion per year community health partnership structure are currently devising reports to counter the painful truth on behalf of SNP who are paying them and can demand whatever tune they chose....
antiparasite
Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 01:34 AMIf physchologists are on the payrol then I'd like astrologers and palm readers on a wage too!
Charles Linskaill
Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 01:03 AMNHS Scotland Losing 10 staff everyday, While it might not sound many, Go on at this rate one day soon if we fall ill, or in need of medical assistance there will be no-one there to help us, It's all rather worrying!
Page 1 of 1
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.