The shortfall between the number of registered nurses needed to run NHS Scotland and the number actually employed has reached its highest level ever.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland says official figures published by NHS Scotland show there are more than 3,400 fewer nurses in post than the agreed ‘registered nursing establishment’– a 7.4% gap.

This is more than double the gap in March 2015, where a shortfall of just under 1,400 (or 3.3% of the required workforce) was recorded.

The agreed number of nurses NHS Scotland should have has risen steadily, and is currently set at over 46,700.

March of this year saw the highest ever numbers of nurses employed – but data shows 400 people had left the profession by June.

RCN Scotland, which is currently balloting its members on whether they are willing to take industrial action over fair pay, says its members are too often working in understaffed teams despite more nurses being in post.

Around 5,000 nursing, midwifery and health care support roles across Scotland are currently unfilled.

RCN Scotland Interim Director Colin Poolman says there is a direct link between pay and the ability to recruit – and keep – people in nursing:

“Despite the Scottish government’s talk about record levels of staffing, these figures show that the shortfall in registered nurses needed to run NHS services has never been higher.

“RCN members are telling us every day that there simply aren’t sufficient numbers of nursing staff and that this is putting them under significant pressure.

“As we head into winter and are trying to remobilise services, this should be a wakeup call for the Cabinet Secretary for Health.

“Much more needs to be done to encourage our experienced nursing staff to stay and to ensure there is a robust plan to increase the future workforce.

“Implementing fair pay is part of the solution which is why RCN members strongly rejected the pay award made by the Scottish government earlier this year.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said:

“Scotland’s NHS staffing levels are at a record high level and have increased by over 5,000 WTE in the last year. Thanks to nine consecutive years of staffing increases we have an extra 25,000 staff working in our health service, an 11 per cent increase in qualified nurses and midwives and a steady rise in places on pre-registration nursing and midwifery undergraduate training programmes.

“Our NHS Recovery Plan includes a commitment to provide £11 million for new national and international recruitment campaigns and to establish a national Centre for Workforce Supply. We have also announced a record £300m of new investment in measures to help services deal with system pressures over winter.

“The establishment requirement has also increased, not least due to efforts to expand the NHS workforce further. Part of our winter package for the NHS includes efforts for Health Boards to attract at least 200 registered nurses from outwith Scotland. We are also recruiting 1,000 additional healthcare support staff to support patients in hospitals and in community health teams.”

 

Read more: Insight: Recovery is about workforce and wellbeing; NHS staffing: time to “positively disrupt education"; Scotland’s chief nurse resigns after less than a year

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