Sturgeon blamed by the Tories for NHS jobs crisis

NICOLA Sturgeon was yesterday accused of presiding over a recruitment crisis in Scotland’s NHS, with a shortage of doctors forcing nurses to fill in for them.

According to the Tories, the number of consultant posts lying vacant for more than six months has risen to 16 , up by 1 per cent in just three months – and a huge 300 per cent increase since 2011.

Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson also said a report by NHS Lothian into the problems at the paediatric unit at St John’s Hospital in Livingston, West Lothian, revealed ‘on some occasions advanced nurse practitioners or paediatric nurse

‘Shifts on the point of collapse’

practitioners are required to fill rota gaps’. She yesterday branded this ‘utterly unacceptable’.

‘As doctors say, the Scottish Government needs to get a grip of the growing NHS recruitment crisis,’ Miss Davidson said.

‘The scale of that crisis is now becoming clear. In the worst cases, nurses are backfilling for doctors because of the lack of staff, while weekend and night shifts are on the point of collapse.

She said a report from the local health board showed there is a ‘continuing heavy reliance on a small number of staff doing additional night and weekend shifts’ to cover the doctors rota and this is ‘prone to short-notice collapse because of sickness or other unplanned absence’.

Miss Sturgeon claimed overall improvements had been made there under the SNP, insisting the government had invested improvements at the hospital, including a new MRI scanner, a new eating disorders unit and a refurbished labour ward and special care baby unit.

The First Minister also said NHS staffing numbers have reached record levels.