30,000 complaints from NHS staff about short staffing

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today said that the Health Secretary has failed to deliver support for NHS staff and patients as he revealed research by his party showing that Scottish NHS workers logged concerns about short staffing on more than 30,000 occasions since 2018.  

Freedom of information requests from the Scottish Liberal Democrats reveal that 31,234 reports relating to short staffing were logged in the NHS Datix system since April 2018.

There were 5,159 reports logged in 2024/25, up from 4,810 in 2023/24.

Datix is a risk management information system designed to collect and manage data on adverse events. Staff members are encouraged to report incidents, including staffing issues, on the Datix incident reporting system. Each Datix report triggers an email to reviewers and approvers (normally Senior Charge Nurses and Lead Nurses) for the area affected by the staffing issue.

The new figures come at the end of a week where an RCN survey showed nurses considering leaving the profession because of low staffing levels, while at FMQs Alex Cole-Hamilton highlighted the case of Isobel Knights who waited for six hours alone in a corridor at A&E in Aberdeen despite her heart having only just been restarted.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

“Across the country, NHS staff worry that they are dangerously understaffed. The red flags they are formally recording 99 times a week point to patients waiting in pain and services pushed to breaking point.

“I've repeatedly pressed the Scottish Government about this but the situation has only got worse.

“Staff want to deliver top quality care but nurses say unsafe care is being normalised and doctors say staff morale is at an all time low.

“The Health Secretary has failed to give our hard-working NHS staff the beds, safe staffing and resources they desperately need.

“Scotland deserves better than this.

“My party has a realistic plan to get things done, delivering first-rate healthcare – so you can see your GP, dentist or mental health professional when you need them.

“We would train and retain the staff the NHS needs by fixing the broken workforce planning and help people leave hospital on time through a new minimum wage for care workers that is £2 higher. Unless we fix care services, we will never fix the NHS.

"Next May, wherever you are, every vote for the Scottish Liberal Democrats on your second, peach-coloured ballot paper will deliver change for our NHS with fairness at its heart."