Chamber and committees

Below are four tables which confirm the attrition rate for each NHS medical speciality, also broken down by NHS board, since 2021 .

Overall, more trainee doctor posts have filled in 2023 than any other year on record. 5 posts were advertised in Medical Oncology at ST3 level and 1 (or 20%) filled successfully. These figures are accurate as of 25 July and pertain only to the initial recruitment rounds of 2023; end-year data for all UK nations and specialties will be published by NHS England in the coming weeks. It should be noted that recent uplifts in Medical Oncology (3 posts in 2022 and 2023) led to a greater number of posts being advertised. We continue to work closely with our partners in NHS Education for Scotland and Health Boards, to consider ways of improving fill rates across all specialities. Examples in Medical Oncology include:

• We are funding uplifts in Internal Medicine Training (IMT) with 22 posts set to be created in 2024. IMT is a pre-requisite for Medical Oncology (among several other specialties) and increasing front-end supply should therefore improve the sustainability of services in the longer term.
• NHS Education for Scotland (NES) colleagues have been promoting Medical Oncology at undergraduate level and at various careers events across the country. The West of Scotland Oncology Team, for example, is hosting a careers event at the Beatson Cancer Centre in January 2024 for IMT trainees.
• A national oncology teaching programme has also been signposted to IMT trainees which is accessible via monthly MS Teams sessions.

Overall, more trainee doctor posts have filled in 2023 than any other year on record. 18 posts were advertised in Clinical Oncology at ST3 level and 5 (or 27.78%) filled successfully. These figures are accurate as of 25 July and pertain only to the initial recruitment rounds of 2023; end-year data for all UK nations and specialties will be published by NHS England in the coming weeks. It should be noted that recent uplifts in Clinical Oncology (4 posts in 2022 and 2023) led to a greater number of posts being advertised. We continue to work closely with our partners in NHS Education for Scotland and Health Boards, to consider ways of improving fill rates across all specialities. Examples in Clinical Oncology include:

• We are funding uplifts in Internal Medicine Training (IMT) with 22 posts set to be created in 2024. IMT is a pre-requisite for Clinical Oncology (among several other specialties) and increasing front-end supply should therefore improve the sustainability of services in the longer term.
• NHS Education for Scotland (NES) colleagues have been promoting Clinical Oncology at undergraduate level and at various careers events across the country. The West of Scotland Oncology Team, for example, is hosting a careers event at the Beatson Cancer Centre in January 2024 for IMT trainees.
• A national oncology teaching programme has also been signposted to IMT trainees which is accessible via monthly MS Teams sessions.

The Scottish Government collates data by job family rather than by position, and as such, does not hold the information on recruitment to positions. As the employer, Health Boards hold individual responsibility for recruitment to ensure appropriate staffing levels to deliver services.

The Scottish Government is committed to the development of a Scottish Seabird Conservation Strategy in partnership with stakeholders, to drive forward and prioritise action aimed at improving the conservation prospects of our internationally important seabird populations.

With Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) continuing to have a devastating impact on wild birds, including some of our seabird populations, the Scottish Government, Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies and partners have focused their resources on monitoring and responding to the outbreak, taking action where appropriate to minimise impacts. This included the development of a Scottish HPAI in wild birds response plan which was launched by the Minister for Energy and the Environment in August 2023.

The resource required to respond to HPAI has meant that the strategy has yet to be published. However, actions continue to be taken. This action is important now more than ever with the impacts of HPAI and the results of the recent Seabird Census published in December 2023.

Through the Future Catching Policy, Ministers will be delivering on their obligations to minimise and, where possible, eliminate bycatch of sensitive species as part of a wider effort to ensure the sustainability of our fisheries. As our priority, we will take firm measures to increase selectivity by introducing additional technical measures to reduce unwanted catch and bycatch of sensitive marine species, working with stakeholders to explore and deliver solutions.

The Scottish Marine Protected Area (MPA) Network, including our Seabird Special Protection Areas (SPAs), protects and enhances our marine environment, supporting ecosystem health, improved livelihoods, economic prosperity, social inclusion and wellbeing.

Work on the strategy is moving at pace and targeted stakeholder consultations are expected to take place in spring 2024.

Since 2011, Transport Scotland has invested over £65 million, on behalf of Scottish Ministers, to support the installation of over 2700 public EV charge point installations across Scotland as part of the ChargePlace Scotland EV charging network. As a direct result, Scotland has the best provision of public charge points per head of population of anywhere in the UK, outside of London and the most rapid charge points per head of population of any region.

Last year, the Scottish Government published a Vision for Scotland’s future public EV charging network, highlighting the need for a transition towards a public charging network that is largely financed and delivered by the private sector. Through the £60m EV Infrastructure Fund, we are supporting local authorities across Scotland to work with the private sector to lever in the private investment needed to continue to grow provision of EV charging in Scotland at pace and scale.

The following table shows the total number of electric vehicle charge points commissioned on to the Scottish Government funded ChargePlace Scotland network for 2023 across the Highland and Islands Scottish Parliament Electoral Region, broken down by Local Authority Area.

We do not hold information relating to any other electric vehicle charging networks.

Overall more trainee doctor posts have filled in 2023 than any other year on record, (data correct as at 25 July 2023). Within that overall context there will always be a number of posts which do not fill. Rehabilitation Medicine ST3 is a small specialty with only 1 post advertised in 2023, therefore, as this post has not filled, the fill rate appears as 0%. We continue to work closely with our partners in NHS Education for Scotland and Health Boards, to consider ways of improving fill rates across all specialities.

NHS 24 call handlers are not medically trained, they are classed as healthcare support workers.

Callers to NHS 24 will initially have their symptoms triaged by a call handler before being passed on to a clinician within the Service or to another area of the health service best placed to meet their needs as appropriate.

Overall, more trainee doctor posts have filled in 2023 than any other year on record. 7 posts were advertised in Neurology at ST4 level and 4 (or 57.14%) filled successfully. These figures are accurate as of 25 July and pertain only to the initial recruitment rounds of 2023; end-year data for all UK nations and specialties will be published by NHS England in the coming weeks. We continue to work closely with our partners in NHS Education for Scotland and Health Boards, to consider ways of improving fill rates across all specialities.

Neurology recently became what is known as a group 2 specialty (formerly group 1), meaning that trainees must complete 3 years of Internal Medicine Training (IMT) rather than 2. We are working with NHS Education for Scotland to determine what impact this is having on the attractiveness of the programme. We are also funding uplifts in IMT with 22 posts set to be created in 2024. IMT is a pre-requisite for Neurology (among several other specialties) and increasing front-end supply should therefore improve the sustainability of services in the longer term.

Overall more trainee doctor posts have filled in 2023 than any other year on record, (data correct as at 25 July 2023). Within that overall context there will always be a number of posts which do not fill. Thoracic Surgery ST4 is a small specialty with only 1 post advertised in 2023, therefore, as this post has not filled, the fill rate appears as 0%. We continue to work closely with our partners in NHS Education for Scotland and Health Boards, to consider ways of improving fill rates across all specialities.