SCOTLAND'S nursing body has called the Scottish Government "short-sighted" as figures released show the number of NHS staff has increased in the past 10 years.

Figures released by ISD Scotland show Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) staffing levels are up 8.2 per cent since September 2006.

The statistics for the quarter ending June 2015 show an increase of 1540 WTE employees compared with the same quarter of the previous year – a rise of 1.1 per cent.

But bosses at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said demands on the health service are "outstripping" the increase in nursing numbers.

Director Theresa Fyffe said: "On the face of it, this is good news, but we know that the demands on our health services are outstripping this latest increase: our population is getting older, with many now living with a number of long-term conditions, meaning that more and more people are needing ever-more complex care, and the costs of new drugs and technology are sky-rocketing.

“If we are going to meet this growing demand on our health service, brave decisions have to be made now on how services are to be delivered in the future.

"The ‘status quo’ is not an option, given the pressures the NHS is now under.

“Hiding behind sound bites such as there are more nurses now than a few years ago is really not good enough."

The RCN points to figures showing more than 2250 WTE nursing and midwifery posts are vacant and 600 WTE nursing posts have been vacant for more than three months.

Between 2009 and 2012, health boards cut over 2,000 nursing jobs and the Government cut training posts for nurses and midwives by over 20%.

Ms Fyffe added: "This was short-sighted and although the Government is trying to address this, we’re still left with a very real gap, with not enough nurses to fill it.

"If the NHS is to flourish into the future, we need to take a long, hard look, with the public, at how we deliver services differently to put the NHS workforce on a sustainable footing to ensure quality care for patients into the future.”

New government figures show there has been a rise of 611.4 WTE nurses and midwives during the past year.

There are now more than 2,000 additional WTE qualified nurses and midwives working in Scotland’s NHS compared to September 2006.

The number of consultants in post, including consultant grade directors, saw an annual increase of 5.3 per cent – or 254.4 WTE. This brings the total number of WTE consultants working in Scotland NHS to 5,024.3.

Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “Under this government, NHS staff numbers have risen significantly, with more consultants, nurses and midwives now delivering care for the people of Scotland.

“To give people the high quality health care they deserve, we are investing in and supporting a highly skilled NHS Scotland workforce.

"We know our NHS faces many pressures and is treating more patients, with more complex illnesses, than ever before. Despite these pressures, the hard working NHS staff continue to deliver high quality care.”

But the BMA Scotland expressed concern for health services in Scotland as the new figures also show that NHS consultant vacancies have continued to increase.

The official figures published by ISD Scotland show that there has been a 29% increase in vacant whole time equivalent consultant positions over the last year, from 346.7 vacant WTE posts in June 2014 to 447.5 vacant WTE posts in June 2015.

Of those vacant positions there has been an 102.4% increase in the number that have been vacant for 6 months or more, from 92.9 WTE posts in June 2014 to 188 WTE posts in June 2015.

Overall ISD Scotland puts the WTE consultant vacancy rate for June 2015 at 8.3% of the overall consultant establishment, however a previous investigation by BMA Scotland suggested that official figures are underestimating consultant vacancies.

Dr Nikki Thompson, who chairs the BMA’s Scottish Consultants Committee, said: “Official figures show that the number of vacant consultant positions in Scotland has risen by almost a third in the last year. We also know that there are consultant vacancies that do not get picked up in official statistics, so the real picture is very likely worse.

“Consultant care must be available when patients need it. We know that remaining consultants are struggling to cover the gaps, but there is a limit to how long people can work safely at this intensity.

"Twice as many consultant jobs are now lying vacant for months on end, and staff and services cannot continue at this level of pressure.

“The Scottish Government must recognise that they have a major recruitment and retention problem, which will damage the care that patients receive.

"They must take urgent action to value and retain those consultants we have, and to attract the others that patients and services need.”

The Scottish Conservatives also expressed concern at the figures, saying in some consultant specialities, the vacancy rate is as high as 12.9 per cent, while nearly half of the overall vacancies have been empty for more than six months.

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Jackson Carlaw said: “It’s very clear that, on the SNP’s watch, the number of vacancies across Scotland’s NHS has increased.

“This is not a new issue, and it’s one the Scottish Government should have got on top of long ago.

“Of course ministers cannot simply create applicants to take these jobs, but it’s pretty obvious Scotland is not training enough of its own specialist NHS staff.

“That leaves those left working on the wards under extreme pressure in an environment which is becoming busier and more challenging.

“We’re well used to seeing high vacancy numbers – it’s time the SNP took action to address this once and for all.”

However, Tom Waterson, chairman of Unison Scotland’s Health Committee, welcomed the news of the increasing in nursing staff.

He said: "This is very welcome news and will hopefully be welcomed by staff at all grades.

"However, we feel that more could be done to expand the roles of staff. For example, more could be done in employing nurse practitioners who could go out to work in the community to take pressure of GPs and A&E units.

"This would take a four or five programme and involve planning ahead.

"But these figures show the good work being done by the Scottish Government in partnership with trade unions."