Loading...
28 Aug 2012
The number of nurses and midwives in Scotland has fallen again, according to figures released today.
ISD Scotland said there were 56,183 full-time equivalents working across the NHS in Scotland in June this year, a fall of around 283, or 0.5 per cent from three months before.
But compared to September 2009, before mass staff cutbacks in the NHS began in Scotland, there are now 2,245 fewer nurses and midwives.
This is despite promises from the SNP that frontline services would not be affected as part of efficiency savings.
Scottish Conservative health spokesman and deputy leader Jackson Carlaw MSP said:
“When this process began Nicola Sturgeon promised there would be no cuts to frontline services.
“Now we are at a stage where we have lost considerably more than 2000 nurses and midwives in the space of three years.
“It is hard to believe that with such a significant cull of positions, such vital services have not been impacted.
“Health spending in Scotland is protected, so there is no excuse for the Scottish Government to aimlessly swing the axe at the nursing and midwifery headcount.
“It is all very well for Nicola Sturgeon to make empty promises to win herself standing ovations at assorted conferences – but the time has now come to honour these pledges.
“With every passing month nurses are discovering that their frontline jobs are not safe with the SNP.”
For the full report, visit:
http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Publications/2012-08-28/2012-08-28-Workforce-Report.pdf?35108584166
