RECORD numbers of people now work in the Scottish NHS but there remain stubborn problems filling consultant and nursing vacancies, according to the latest official figures.
In a mixed picture for the health service, the statistics body ISD Scotland reported the overall staff headcount, both full and part-time, rose 0.5 per cent to 162,302 last year.
This equated to 139,262 full-time posts, up 9.6 per cent over the SNP’s decade in power.
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However the number of full-time consultant posts lying vacant was 377, or 6.8 per cent, on December 31, compared to 6 per cent a year earlier, and 7 per cent three months earlier.
Around 180 of these vacancies had been unfilled more than six months, an increase of 34 since 31 December 2015, but a slight decrease of 2.6 since 30 September 2016.
The report also showed a 5,2 per cent rise in the number of full-time nursing and midwifery posts in the last decade to 59,700, with 4.1 per cent of posts vacant on December 31.
This compared to 3.6 per cent vacant in December 2015, and 4.3 per cent last September.
Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “Under this Government, NHS staff numbers have risen to record highs - with more consultants, nurses and midwives now delivering care for the people of Scotland. These extra staff will ensure people all across Scotland get the high-quality NHS services that they rightly expect.”
However Labour health spokesperson Anas Sarwar said: “The SNP is completely detached from reality about the crisis in the NHS workforce.
“While government ministers demand praise for their record, hundreds of posts have been lying vacant for months in our health service. It is abundantly clear to everyone apart from SNP ministers that our health service does not have the staff it needs to deliver the care patients deserve.”
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Scottish LibDem health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton accused the government of “burying its head in the sand” over vacancies given the shortage of nursing staff and consultants.
He said: “Staffing isn’t keeping up with demand and posts are lying vacant for months on end. This is having a knock on effect on the quality of care provided to patients and the staff under pressure to provide cover.”
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