Question reference: S6W-09193
- Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
- Date lodged: 16 June 2022
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Current status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 29 June 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address any workforce shortages in (a) liver nurse specialists and (b) hepatologists.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to delivering a high quality healthcare service to the people of Scotland, including those with liver disease. To support NHS Scotland ensure it has the workforce capacity to deliver those services, we published the National Health and Social Care Workforce Strategy on 11 March 2022, which outlines our ambitions for recovery, growth and transformation of our workforce. Workforce projections for Health and Social Care will be published later this year. These will incorporate evidence from local Three Year Workforce Plans.
We will support Health Boards with their recruitment needs as set out in their plans directly through investment in international recruitment.
NHS Scotland's staffing levels are at a record high, and have now increased for ten consecutive years. We have also funded record numbers of healthcare education places this academic year.