NHS Staff numbers on the rise

In Edinburgh figures published recently in Edinburgh by Numbers show that the largest employer is the Health sector which is responsible for 45,200 employees in the city. This is only 1% less than the national average of 16% but now the number of staff working in Scotland’s NHS has risen to a record high, according to figures published today.

The figures, released by ISD Scotland, show that under the current government the NHS Scotland workforce has increased by 8.3 per cent, with up to 10,541.7 more whole time equivalent (WTE) staff.

NHS nurses and midwives are at a record high, with a 4.2 per cent increase and over 2,391.4 WTE more nurses and midwives since 2006.

Consultants are also at a record high, with an annual increase of 4.8 per cent (224.8 WTE) to 4,918.4 WTE at 31 March 2015.

Total NHS workforce, excluding GPs and dentists, has increased by 1.5 per cent over the past year, with 137,603.5 WTE employees.

[tweet_box design=”default”]Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “Under this government, NHS staff numbers have risen significantly, with record levels of consultants, nurses and midwives now delivering care for the people of Scotland.[/tweet_box]

“This demonstrates that, to give people the high quality health care they deserve, we are investing in and supporting a highly skilled NHS Scotland workforce.

“In addition to having record staffing levels, Scotland is leading the UK in the development of mandatory nursing and midwifery workload and workforce planning tools that help health boards to plan for the number of staff they require. By using these tools, health boards can make sure they have the right number of staff required to provide the best possible care for patients in a variety of specialities.

“The recent rise in nursing and midwifery vacancies is due to the creation of new posts in health boards, mainly as a result of information from the workload and workforce planning tools. Several health boards have received additional investment to increase their nursing numbers and are in the process of recruiting these additional nurses.

“The spend on agency nurses has fallen under this Government, and the £16 million spent in 2014/15 is down by almost 40 per cent from £26.47 million in 2005/06. We’re examining ways to support boards embed the reductions in their agency spend in recent years in light of a very small increase of 0.1 per cent of nursing shifts filled by agency staff in the last year.

“Increases in staffing are an important part of this and health boards including NHS Lothian, Grampian and Tayside are actively looking at ways to increase theatre staff. This includes plans, with Scottish Government support, to roll out pilot schemes which will boost the number of theatre staff through alternative routes.

“We are committed to training and retaining our nursing staff and in January we announced a three per cent increase in pre-registration student nursing and midwifery intakes – a third successive rise. This is in addition to the six per cent rise in 2014/15.

“Protecting front-line health services is an absolute priority of this government, and that’s why we have not only protected the NHS budget but increased it.

“Through this we are protecting our hard-working NHS staff by ensuring no compulsory redundancies in NHS Scotland, delivering the pay rise advocated by the independent pay review bodies and guaranteeing that all NHS staff are paid at least the living wage. This stands in contrast to the actions of the UK Government who have failed to provide the same for staff in NHS England.

“We know our NHS faces many pressures and is treating more patients, with more complex illnesses, than ever before. Despite these pressures, the fantastic staff working in the NHS continue to deliver high quality care.”

Here are all the figures in Edinburgh by Numbers (which we find fascinating!)