NHS staff have raised staffing concerns more than 25,000 times since 2018

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today said that successive SNP Health Secretaries have failed staff and patients as he revealed research by his party which shows that Scottish NHS workers logged concerns about short staffing on more than 25,000 occasions in the past five years.  

Freedom of information requests from the Scottish Liberal Democrats reveal that 25,865 reports relating to short staffing were logged in the NHS Datix system since April 2018.

Datix is a risk management information system designed to collect and manage data on adverse events. Staff members are encouraged to report incidents, including staffing issues, on the Datix incident reporting system. Each Datix report triggers an email to reviewers and approvers (normally Senior Charge Nurses and Lead Nurses) for the area affected by the staffing issue.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

“These figures show that on wards across the country, NHS staff worry that they are dangerously understaffed.

“How can they possibly ensure patients are getting the best quality care when they are pushed to breaking point just to see everyone?

“The blame for this lies solely at the door of the SNP and their mismanagement of the health system. They have failed to give our hard-working NHS staff the beds, safe staffing and resources they desperately need.    

“As we get closer to the winter months, it is vital that Neil Gray gets a handle on this. We need an urgent strategy to tackle burnout among staff and put their voices first as they tackle the crisis. He also needs to help people leave hospital on time through a new minimum wage for care workers that is £2 higher. Unless we fix care services, we will never fix the NHS."