Scottish hospitals have lost more than 1,800 nurses in the past year.
The Scottish Government has been accused of allowing the NHS to ”haemorrhage” staff after it emerged that the figure, which includes midwives, dropped from 67,259 to 65,448 in the 12 months to September.
There was also a fall in the number of allied health professionals such as physiotherapists, chiropodists and speech and language therapists. And the number of backroom admin staff has been cut by nearly 5% down by 1,403 to 28,859.
But the figures also revealed that there are more consultants, doctors, dentists, pharmacists, psychologists and counsellors working in the NHS a total increase of 541 staff.
In total there were 161,369 staff in the NHS, including GPs and dentists a drop of 4,162 from the previous year.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said the number of nursing staff was now at its lowest for five years.
RCN Scotland director Theresa Fyffe argued that was ”bad news for patient care.”
She said: ”Health boards are in the unenviable position of having to balance their books and make savings at the same time. This is resulting in cuts to the nursing workforce, the backbone of the NHS, so they can save money on their wage bills.
”Yet, at the same time, Scotland’s population is getting older and living longer with complex conditions, so healthcare demand is going up. These cuts are not only bad news for patient care, but mean that the remaining staff in the NHS are increasingly over-stretched.”
Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie branded the jobs cut ”grossly unfair.”
She said: ”The SNP Government promised to protect our NHS and frontline workers, but these figures expose the harsh reality is that the SNP is doing neither.
”For all their promises, the SNP has allowed the NHS in Scotland to haemorrhage over 4,000 staff including, worryingly, over 2,000 nurses and midwives.
”It is grossly unfair that it is frontline staff, like nurses and midwives, which are being forced to bear the brunt of the SNP’s cuts. The alarming collapse of frontline staff is totally incompatible with the SNP’s claims it is protecting Scotland’s NHS.”
Liberal Democrat health spokeswoman Alison McInnes said the cuts would ”put a huge strain on the NHS” and added: ”These figures expose the health secretary’s hollow promises on protecting the health budget.”
The jobs figures came as the NHS beat targets to cut death from stroke by half and heart disease by 60%. And 89.8% of patients completed their treatment within 18 weeks from going to see their GP just short of the 90% target due for the end of the year.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon insisted the cut in nurse numbers is in line with plans.
”The NHS doesn’t stand still. It is currently in a period of transition as the balance of care shifts towards more community care and shorter hospital stays,” she said. ”The shape and size of the workforce reflects that transition.
”However, I fully understand that changes to the NHS workforce will always be a source of potential concern and it is therefore vital that changes continue to be considered in partnership with staff and that they are informed by rigorous workforce planning.
”The NHS faces new challenges and changes to the way staff work. However, we are committed to providing the resources which will ensure that the health service continues to deliver the very best quality of care for patients.”