The consultant workforce in Scotland’s NHS is “beyond crisis point”, the doctors’ union has said.
BMA Scotland’s consultant committee responded to the latest quarterly figures for the NHS medical and dentistry consultancy workforce, which were released on Tuesday.
In the quarter ending December 2023, there were 6,006 WTE (whole time equivalent) consultants, with 436 vacancies.
Dr Alan Robertson, chairman of BMA Scotland’s consultant committee said: “For some time now, we have been beyond crisis point for Scotland’s senior doctor workforce.
“Today we can see that stark reality and there is no doubt we are reaching a crunch point where something will have to give.
“New statistics show that consultant vacancies remain far too high, standing at some 436 gaps in the workforce – and up by 5.8% on this time last year.”
He added: “Audit Scotland has warned our NHS and its workforce is simply unable to meet the growing demand for health services of our population.
“The stubbornly high level of gaps in our consultant workforce just back up that claim further – and it is patients who are suffering as waiting lists grow and care becomes harder and harder to access.
“In reality, the situation is likely even worse, as these official figures seriously underestimate the real level of vacancies by not counting things like posts temporarily filled by locums, or vacant for so long that they are no longer being advertised.”
He said the union is gathering further data on vacancies in the workforce.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “As at December 2023, there are a record high number of medical and dental consultants in Scotland, including directors.
“And under this Government, the number of consultants has increased by almost 69% in Scotland.
“In addition, vacancies have decreased by 0.6% over the last quarter, and the total establishment has increased over the last year by 120.8 whole time equivalents, which demonstrates the creation of new medical and dental consultant posts.
“Whilst our NHS workforce has seen 12 consecutive years of growth, we know that growing the workforce alone does not ensure improved performance or patient safety and experience.
“It is through reform and diversification that we can progressively make better use of our workforce and improve the design of services, combined with the right tools, technology and infrastructure.”