Almost 20% of consultant psychiatrist jobs in Scotland seeking permanent recruit, data shows

Press release, Scotland news
28 January 2025

Nearly one in five senior mental health roles in Scotland are either vacant or filled by locums, figures show.

Freedom of information requests found 19% of permanent consultant psychiatrist roles are vacant or filled on a temporary basis, although it varies widely by area.

Smaller health boards such as NHS Shetland and NHS Western Isles have no permanent consultant psychiatrists, the data shows.

Across the whole of Scotland, 101 consultant psychiatrist posts out of 536 whole-time equivalent roles are currently vacant.

The health board with the highest number of vacancies is NHS Tayside at 21.1 – 33.9% of its total staff in this area.

In NHS Fife, more than 40% of permanent consultant psychiatrist roles are vacant.

Responding to the figures, Dr Pavan Srireddy, Vice-Chair of RCPsych in Scotland, said:

“These are very concerning figures indeed and the situation is only set to get worse if the Scottish Government does not act now. The unprecedented demand for services and critical gaps in the mental health workforce are already leading to unacceptably long waits for mental health care and treatment.

“Consultant psychiatrists not only treat patients, but they also contribute to teaching junior doctors, training and NHS service development. We urgently need a strategy to not just recruit more psychiatrists but to retain our experienced doctors who sadly face excessive workloads, stress and burnout due to staff shortages leading them to leave permanent roles.

“Above all, we need ring-fenced mental health funding to reach the government’s own 10% budget commitment and ensure adequate resources are put in place urgently, for recruitment and retention.”

The figures were released by the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

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