Scotland could be heading towards a crisis level shortage of consultants after new figures revealed nearly 260 are due to hit retirement age in the next five years.
Figures released by Heath Secretary Shona Robison revealed 65 could be lost to the country’s NHS this year alone.
The Scottish Conservatives, who uncovered the stats using parliamentary questions, said vacancies among such key senior staff are already at record levels, with nearly 450 unfilled posts in hospitals.
Tory health spokesman Jackson Carlaw said: “The vacancy situation among consultants in Scotland’s hospitals is bad enough without a mini retirement boom coming down the tracks.
“This places the SNP’s failure to properly plan for future staffing levels into even sharper focus.
“The Scottish Government will be crossing its fingers that many of these consultants turning 65 decide to stay on for a bit longer.
“But the reality could be worse, and many well under the age of 65 could be considering retirement plans of their own.
“Ministers must explain as a matter of urgency how they intend not only to reduce the number of vacancies, but also replace those for whom retirement is imminent.”
Earlier this month it emerged the number of consultancy vacancies had quadrupled, meaning 8.3% of posts are unfilled.
Nursing vacancies are also at a new high, with 2,256 vacancies currently, compared to just 579 in 2011.
And concerns have been raised about a shortage of GPs, with a survey sent to each of the country’s 987 surgeries by Labour’s public health spokesperson Dr Richard Simpson MSP revealing that almost one in four GP partners are close to retirement age.
Ms Robison argued that Scotland has record numbers of consultants with numbers increasing nationwide by 38.2% to 5,024.3 Whole Time Equivalent staff since the SNP came to power.
She said: “We are working with NHS boards to ensure safe, effective and high quality healthcare is delivered by the right professional at all times, and we are developing better intelligence through robust medical workforce supply and demand profiles which take into account the effects of consultant retirement and other factors.
“In accordance with current legislation, we can no longer presume a retiral age as this is discriminatory.”