THE true number of consultant vacancies in NHS Scotland is more than double what official figures suggest, according to a new analysis.
Figures obtained under freedom of information by BMA Scotland point to a vacancy rate of 14.3 per cent, compared to the 6.2% set out in official statistics.
The data suggests that the health service is struggling with a shortfall equivalent to 937 full-time consultants – enough doctors to staff a large hospital.
According to official statistics, the figure was just under 393 as of September 30 this year.
The trade union has previously voiced concerns that the way vacancies are counted downplays the situation on the frontline.
READ MORE: 'It's falling apart': Scots GPs on their fears for future of general practice
In a number of cases, posts can be empty but would not meet the criteria to be included in vacancy statistics.
This includes posts which are temporarily filled by locums; which are vacant but have not yet been advertised; or which have been unfilled for so long that recruitment efforts have been scrapped.
BMA Scotland asked all 14 health boards for details of all vacancies, including those which would normally be excluded in the workforce statistics provided by NHS Education for Scotland (NES).
Official statistics also show that spending on locum doctors cost NHS Scotland £102 million in the year to March 2022, compared to £67m in 2013/14.
Dr Alan Robertson, chair of the BMA’s Scottish Consultants Committee, said: “Consultant vacancies across Scotland remain worryingly high – these latest figures are not surprising, but I find myself increasingly frustrated that the Scottish government is not revealing the true extent of them in the official stats.
“We are in the midst of a consultant recruitment and retention crisis – this year we have seen increased agency spending on locum doctors, suggesting that finding permanent staff to fill the gaps is proving to be significantly challenging and is cause for huge concern.
“And yet, we keep hearing that NHS staffing levels are at a record high. But to repeat this over and over to staff on the ground who are depleted, exhausted and facing burnout is not just demoralising, but incredibly insulting.
"Staff are working flat out, doing absolutely everything they can to cope with rising demand which is spiralling out of control, but I cannot be any clearer when I say that just because there are more people on the payroll than before, does not mean there is enough.
"The consultant workforce has been stretched to its limit over the past few years and staff shortages are affecting the ability of doctors to deliver the high-quality patient care they strive for.”
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BMA Scotland has announced plans to ballot junior doctors on strike action in January amid a row over pay.
They have been offered a 4.5% uplift, in line with the recommendations of the UK’s independent pay review body, but this compares to the 7.5% the Scottish Government has agreed with some other NHS staff. The starting salary for a junior doctor is around £27,600.
No decision has yet been taken by BMA Scotland on whether to ballot consultants on industrial action. The starting salary for consultants is around £91,000, but senior clinicians are disproportionately affected by costly pension charges which have been blamed for exacerbating workforce shortages by driving medics into early retirement.
READ MORE: Why doctors are angry about their 4.5 per cent 'pay rise'
Dr Robertson said the medical workforce is “running on empty”.
He added: “The impact of these on-going vacancies on staff left working in the service is profound and there should be serious concerns over their wellbeing as we enter what is always a notoriously difficult period – indeed we seem to be in a perpetual winter right now and things are not going to get any better any time soon."
The Scottish Government has stressed that the NHS consultant workforce has grown by 32% over the past 10 years, to a record 6,032 by the end of September this year.
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