RCN Scotland comments on latest NHS workforce figures

Published: 27 November 2012

The latest NHS workforce figures released today by ISD Scotland show that the number of nursing and midwifery staff in post remains at a lower level than in 2009.

Commenting on the figures, Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland Director Theresa Fyffe said:

“We can’t escape the fact that since 2009 we have lost more than 2,000 nursing staff from the workforce. Cuts to the workforce are not only bad news for patient care but mean that the remaining staff in the NHS are increasingly over-stretched, and while today’s figures also show that there has been a slight increase in the number of nursing staff in post over the last quarter, when taken in the wider context it is only a very small improvement.”

“Last month, Audit Scotland’s report on NHS financial performance 2011-12 painted a clear picture of the pressures the NHS is facing. With increasing cost pressures on boards, an ageing population and increasing demand for services, we need to be sure that the nursing workforce is sustainable and able to deliver high quality care for every patient into the future. We understand and welcome that the suite of workforce planning tools will be mandatory across all health boards from April next year and we support the contribution that they will make to getting staffing right. However, we have been clear that the tools on their own are not enough to guarantee adequate workforce planning and that additional measures are required to ensure that we have the appropriate number of staff where they are needed.  It’s in everyone’s interests to get this right.”

ENDS

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Notes to editors

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the world’s largest professional organisation and trade union for nursing staff, with members in the NHS, independent and voluntary sectors. RCN Scotland promotes patient and nursing interests by campaigning on issues that affect our members, shaping national health policies, representing members on practice and employment issues and providing members with learning and development opportunities.  With around 39,000 members in Scotland, we are the voice of nursing.

• Since September 2009, nursing and midwifery staff in post have decreased by 2164.9 WTE (Whole Time Equivalent) (3.7%). However, these figures include nurse interns who are not to be included by health boards in their ward workforce figures as they are in addition to the staffing for the area where the intern is placed, rather than as a core part of the workforce for safe and appropriate staffing. The figures also reflect the change in employer at 1 April 2012 when 109.8 WTE nursing staff were transferred from NHS Highland to Highland Council as they moved towards the integration of health and social care, so are still in post, just with a different employer.
  
• Taking into account these two factors, since September 2009 nursing and midwifery staff in post WTE have decreased by 2345.7 WTE (4.0%).  These adjusted figures exclude nurse interns but do include 109.8 WTE nursing staff in post transferred from NHS Highland to Highland Council.
  
• Nursing and midwifery staff in post (Whole Time Equivalent):
  September 2009: 58,428.4 WTE
  September 2012: 56,082.7 WTE (56263.5 WTE minus 290.6 WTE interns but including 109.8 WTE nursing staff employed by Highland Council).