News Release

News Release – Thursday 29th June 2006 (0930h)

NHSScotland Workforce Statistics are published today by the Information Services Division (ISD) of NHS National Services Scotland at  http://www.isdscotland.org/workforce.
This release includes:

• The Use of Bank and Agency Nurses
• Vacancies for nursing & midwifery and allied health professionals, and corresponding staff in post figures, at 31 March 2006.
• Consultant vacancies to 31 March 2006.
• Doctors in Training: Compliance with the new deal.
• Sickness Absence at 31 March 2006.

For the first time information on Equality and Diversity in NHSScotland is published. The release includes information on Declared Ethnic Group and Declared Religion.

KEY POINTS:

Unless specified otherwise, figures quoted refer to Whole Time Equivalents (WTE).  Where used, WTE refers to “whole time equivalent” staff in post (see background note below). 

Nursing & Midwifery 

• The number of Nursing and Midwifery vacancies decreased from 2445.1 in 31st March 2005 to 2050.7 in 31st March 2006. The vacancy rate decreased from 4.2% to 3.5%. The corresponding staff in post figures were 56, 368.5, an increase of 680.8 (1.2%) from 31st March 2005.
• The number of nursing and midwifery students in Scottish Higher Education Institutions is also at an all time high with 9726 students in initial entrant (pre-registration) training in 2005. 
• The use of agency nursing and midwifery staff increased (up 4.6%) from 1.26 million hours in year ending 31st March 2005 to 1.32 million hours in year ending 31st March 2006.  The cost of employing these staff increased by £63, 289 (0.24%) over the same period.
• The use of bank nursing and midwifery staff increased from 5.05 million hours in year ending 31st March 2005 to 5.46 million hours in year ending 31st March 2006 (up 8.1%).  The cost of employing these staff rose by 12.4% from £61.5 million to £69.1 million over the same period.

Allied Health Professionals 
 
The number of AHP vacancies at 31st March 2006 was 363.2 a decrease of 73.3 from 31st March 2005. The vacancy rate was 4.0% at 31st March 2006 compared with 4.9% the previous year.  The corresponding staff in post figures were 8, 721.0, an increase of 202.3 (2.4%) from 31st March 2005.

Consultants

Quarterly consultant figures show that at 31st March 2005, NHSScotland employed 3, 565.6 whole time equivalent consultants, an increase of 18.8 (0.5%) from 31st December 2005, when the figure was 3, 546.7 whole time equivalent.

Sickness Absence

The overall time lost due to sickness absence in NHSScotland was 5.23% at 31st March 2006. This shows a decrease from the equivalent figure (5.35%) at 31st March 2005.

BACKGROUND NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. This is an ISD Scotland National Statistics release.  National Statistics are produced to high professional standards and adhere to codes of practice.  They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs and they are produced free from any political interference.
2. Information presented in these webpages is changing to reflect the introduction of Agenda for Change. Agenda for Change is the new national NHS pay and terms and conditions system and will introduce new pay bands and harmonised terms and conditions for NHS workers. It replaces the previous Whitley Council system and is one of the key reform elements of the Pay Modernisation Agenda, focused on the need to deliver more effective patient-centred care, better value for money, and redesign of services.
3. NHS Boards are currently operating a phased approach to assimilation of staff to Agenda for Change. This means that there is a temporary loss of detail in the information we publish. For example, we cannot report fully on staff grades at present due to the non-direct match between old and new pay bands (i.e. some staff are on the old payscales, some are on the new Agenda for Change payscales which makes reporting difficult).
4. ISD are working with colleagues in NHS Boards, workforce regional planning, the Scottish Executive Health Department and SWISS project board to ensure that figures published for 30 September 2006 will provide the fullest detail possible, including estimation (e.g. of staff grades) if full assimilation to Agenda for Change has not been achieved.
5. Whole Time Equivalents (WTEs) adjust headcount staff figures to take account of part-time staff and are a more appropriate indicator for staff groups which have a high number of part-time staff (eg nursing and midwifery).
6. ISD Scotland collects, collates and maintains a wide range of health service data sets, which form the national corporate database for NHSScotland.  By providing information, statistical services and effective use of information management and technology, ISD Scotland contributes to health improvement by informing decision making, research and debate within NHSScotland, government departments and other organisations.  ISD Scotland is part of National Services Scotland for the NHS in Scotland.  For more information about ISD Scotland see the ISD Scotland website: http://www.isdscotland.org/isd 

For further information, contact:

Main contact: Jane Chisholm

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