Number of nursing and midwifery jobs unfilled for three months or more up 64%
The number of nursing and midwifery jobs lying empty for three months or more in the NHS has increased by almost two-thirds in the last year to reach more than 800.
The number of nursing and midwifery jobs lying empty for three months or more in the NHS has increased by almost two-thirds in the last year to reach more than 800.
Official figures showed while the number of people working in the health service continues to grow, there was a 9.3% rise in vacancies for nurses and midwives between September 2015 and September 2016.
The vacancy rate means 2,634.5 whole time equivalent (WTE) posts were unfilled in September this year, with 823.8 of those jobs having been lying empty for three months or more.
That compares to 500 posts that had been vacant for three months in September 2015 - an increase of 64.8%.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) warned the number of vacancies left the NHS facing a "uncertain winter for staff and patients".
RCN Scotland director Theresa Fyffe said: "The RCN has continually raised concerns about what the statistics are telling us and it is important to keep speaking up on behalf of all nursing staff.
"They want to do their absolute best for patients 365 days a year and their efforts are being seriously undermined by the growing gaps in the workforce.
"The significant rise in the number of 'hard to fill' posts, vacant for three months or longer, shows just how difficult health boards are finding it to recruit staff."
At the end of September 2016 there were there 161,806 people working for the health service in Scotland, the equivalent of 138,651.2 whole-time posts - with this figure having increased by 9.1% over the last decade.
A 2.9% increase in consultants in post since September 2015 meant the WTE number had risen to 5,174.5 by September this year.
Nurses and midwives account for more than two-fifths (42.7%) of all NHS staff, with the equivalent of 59,161 full-time staff employed at the end of September 2015 - a rise of 4.2% over the last decade.
The figures also showed the average age of staff has risen from 43 to 46 over the last 10 years, with 37.7% now over the age of 50, compared to 26.7% a decade ago.
Meanwhile, 37.6% of nurses and midwives are over the age of 50.
Ms Fyffe said: "There is no obvious plan for replacing so many nurses in a relatively short space of time. Equally, how will older nurses be supported?"
She claimed there "is a lot riding on the Scottish Government's workforce plan" for the NHS, which is due to be published later this month.
"The plan will need to provide both a short-term fix and a long-term solution to the problems in recent and current workforce strategies," the RCN Scotland director said.
"The Scottish Government and health boards now need to listen to staff and work together with the RCN and other unions to tackle the problems, if we are to avoid shortages in future, which can only affect patient care."
Health Secretary Shona Robison said: "Under this Government, NHS staff numbers have risen to record highs - with more consultants, nurses and midwives now delivering care for the people of Scotland.
"There are now 11,500 more staff working in our NHS, with nearly 1,000 of these recruited in the last year. In the last 10 years we've also seen a 42.8% increase in medical and dental consultants.
"These extra staff will ensure people all across Scotland get the high-quality NHS services that they rightly expect.
"We'll soon be setting out our national health and social care workforce plan for discussion, working with individuals and organisations within our NHS and social care services to ensure we have the right skills mix for the future."