Nursing and midwifery

This section provides information on the nursing and midwifery workforce in NHSScotland. The figures are sourced from Scottish Workforce Information Standard System (SWISS) and describe the numbers of staff assimilated to the Agenda for Change nursing and midwifery job family. Those staff not yet assimilated but where a nursing and midwifery staff group has been identified from their existing payscale are also presented. It is worth noting that if Operating Department Practitioners (ODPs) have been assimilated to nursing job profiles under Agenda for Change they will be shown in this staff group.

The nursing and midwifery workforce is presented by location of service delivery and by field or patient group served, based on post descriptors. There is also a fuller breakdown for nurses working in the community. Information is available by band, age group, gender, contract type, NHS Board and region.

Throughout, information is presented as headcount or whole time equivalent (WTE). WTE adjusts headcount staff figures to take account of part-time staff.

Information available includes;

• Staff in post
• Vacancies
• Students
• Agency and bank nurse usage 
• Clinical nurse specialists (CNS)

Nursing and midwifery is the largest staff group (headcount) in NHSScotland accounting for 40.4%.

The chart below shows the nursing and midwifery staff in NHSScotland by Agenda for Change bands (WTE) at 30th September 2009. The highest band is band 5 at 41.2%.

Staff in post

Latest data available 30th September 2009 - last updated 15th December 2009.

The number of nursing and midwifery staff in post at 30th September 2009 is 58,429.1 (WTE) an increase of 679.5 (1.2%) from 30th September 2008. The corresponding headcount showed an increase of 716 (1.1%) from 67,965 at 30th September 2008 to 68,681 in 30th September 2009.

• Nursing and midwifery staff in post   [2,793Kb]
• Nursing and midwifery staff in post - trend - only available at high level      [1,641Kb]

The chart below shows ten year trend information for nursing and midwifery staff. Headcount figures have changed from 61,560 in 2000 to 68,681 in 2009, an increase of 11.6%.

Vacancies

Latest data available 30th September 2009 - last updated 15th December 2009.

The number of nursing and midwifery vacancies increased from 1,471.5 (2.5%) on 30th September 2008 to 1476.3 (2.5%) on 30th September 2009.

• Nursing and midwifery vacancies  [2,155Kb]

Students

The number of nursing and midwifery student intake decreased from 3,437 in 2007/08 to 3,260 in 2008/09. The number of students on conversion courses decreased from 158 in 2007/08 to 111 in 2008/09. The number of nursing and midwifery students in Scottish Higher Education Institutions has decreased with 9,499 students in initial entrant (pre-registration) training in 2009 compared with 9,660 in 2008. The attrition rate for students on diploma courses is 27.6% for 2004/05.

• Student intakes and students in training by trend - Last updated 15 December 2009       [40Kb]
• Student attrition rates on diploma courses - Last updated 15 December 2009       [333Kb]

Clinical nurse specialists

Latest data available 30th September 2009 - last updated 15th December 2009.

A clinical nurse specialist is a registered nursing professional who has acquired additional knowledge, skills and experience, together with a professionally and/or academically accredited post-registration qualification (if available) in a clinical specialty. They practice at an advanced level and may have sole responsibility for care episode or defined client/group.

The number of clinical nurse specialists at 30th September 2009 is 1460.1 (WTE) which is an increase of 26.8 (WTE)  from  30th September 2008.

• Clinical nurse specialists staff in post   [1,922Kb]
• Clinical nurse specialists vacancies   [261Kb]

 

List of historic (pre agenda for change) tables - information presented by old whitley staff groups.