This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Nursing target met one year early
30/01/2007
New figures show 15,735 registered nurses and midwives have been brought into the NHS since 2002, well over the Executive's target of 12,000 - with 12 months of the target period still remaining.
Workforce statistics released today also show a rise in the numbers of consultants, GPs and Allied Health Professional's while the number of new dentists is more than three times the annual recruitment target of 50.
The statistics show that at September 2006 there were:
- 155,043 staff in NHS Scotland, an increase of 2.6 per cent since September 2005
- 56,699 Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) nursing and midwifery staff, an increase of 2.3 per cent since September 2005
- 3628 WTE hospital consultants, up 3.9 per cent. 4637 GP's, up 1.3%
- 8968 WTE Allied Health Professionals, up 3.8 per cent
- 2842 general, community and hospital dentists. This represents an extra 173 staff since September 2005. Along with increases achieved in 2004/05, it means the March 2008 Action Plan target of 200 has already been exceeded, almost two years early
Health Minister Andy Kerr said:
"Frontline nursing staff are one of the cornerstones of our NHS. When we promised to bring in 12,000 nurses and midwives by 2007, there were those who doubted us. I'm delighted we've not only met our target, but gone much, much further.
"With waiting times at their lowest ever, deaths from Scotland's biggest killers falling and more services being delivered closer to home, it is clear that the hard work and dedication of staff throughout the NHS is delivering high quality healthcare for patients.
"I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to NHS staff for the difference that they make day in and day out."
Also commenting today on new ISD NHS psychology workforce statistics which show a 17 per cent increase across all specialities in a year, Mr Kerr said:
"We now have more NHS psychologists and counsellors than ever before in Scotland.
"This is great news for patients and it helps with our vision of improving mental health services across Scotland so they are focused on better prevention, more local care and improved support to help aid recovery. Faster access to services will mean people can recover from problems earlier and we are taking forward a range of measures to make this happen."
Today's NHS Scotland Workforce Statistics are published by Information Services Division (ISD) and can be accessed at www.isdscotland.org/workforce
Figures in this release are Whole Time Equivalents (WTE). These adjust headcount figures to take account of part-time staff.
The ISD NHS psychology workforce statistics can be found on www.isdscotland.org/wf_psychology