Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of fiddling the figures on nursing after boosting numbers with part-time interns.
Statistics on NHS staff published on Tuesday show an overall workforce of 131,172 down by 102 on the previous quarter.
Over the same period the number of nurses and midwives is up by 229 to 56,467 while management posts have been cut by 204 to 24,297.
But the Royal College of Nursing says the figures are ”not true” because they include newly-qualified staff who can’t find work and are employed on year-long, part-time contracts by the Government.
RCN Scotland associate director Ellen Hudson said: ”While we disagree with making cuts to the nursing workforce to balance books, health boards have cut nearly 950 nursing and midwifery staff in post, pretty much in line with their projections for the year 2011-12.
”This quarter’s small increase can largely be put down to the inclusion of nursing interns in the figures, so is not a true reflection of the nursing workforce.
”Neither does it mean the end of workforce cuts: projections for the current year are still to be published and we are aware of a number of health boards who are looking at more cuts this year.”
Ms Sturgeon defended the staffing levels, saying: ”We know that the NHS doesn’t stand still the way that services are delivered is constantly changing.
”Over three-quarters of all surgery is now done on a day-case basis, and hospital stays are shorter than ever before.
”We have to make sure that the size and shape of the NHS workforce changes to reflect this with moves to see more staff being based in our communities under way.
”Using the nurse bank has saved the NHS over £22 million on agency spend since it was created but the important thing is that our bank nurses are better trained, ensuring high-quality, safe and effective care for our patients.”