³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

In line with the actions set out in the Scottish Government’s Donation and Transplantation Plan: 2021-2026 , a short-life working group has been set up to consider the issue of “timely transplantation” and to discuss perceived barriers to pre-emptive living donor kidney transplant and timely listing for deceased donor transplant. The group is currently gathering data and will report at the December 2024 meeting of the Scottish Donation and Transplant Group, which brings together key stakeholders.

In addition, as part of the Living Donation Scotland initiative, link nephrologists from each Renal Unit meet at an annual living donation event supported by the Scottish Government. A key objective is to work with nephrology colleagues to document transplant suitability on all electronic patient records in their patient groups so the multi-disciplinary team is aware of the individual pathway and progress, and this is now supported by the Renal Education and Choices at Home (REACH Transplant) nurses in each Renal Unit.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of access to interdependent services, including those provided by allied health professionals such as physiotherapists, in order to optimise kidney transplant outcomes.

Under the Scottish Government’s Donation and Transplantation Plan: 2021-2026, a working group on transplant recipient aftercare has been set up. Access to physiotherapy services, which are generally provided when needed both via the Transplant Units themselves and by referring centres, has not so far been identified as an issue of particular concern for chronic kidney disease patients who have received a transplant in Scotland. We will continue to monitor the situation closely including by means of the working group.

With regards to the recruitment of staff, the Scottish Government’s role is to set policies and frameworks at a national level broadly to ensure sufficient workforce supply. Health Boards are autonomous institutions and as such, are responsible for their own recruitment activity taking into account, retention, absence rates and budgets when making decisions.

Whilst it is hoped that all graduates are able to join the NHS within their trained field upon graduation, this is not always possible as vacancies can fluctuate across NHS Scotland boards and by specialism.

The Scottish Government has been engaging with Health Boards regarding their current position in relation to job offers and supply. Health Boards remain committed to maximising opportunities for new qualified nurses to find employment

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) publishes across the UK on a quarterly basis. As of 30 June 2024, there were 459 people recorded by NHSBT as being on the active waiting list for a deceased donor kidney transplant in Scotland.

As set out in the Scottish Government’s Donation and Transplantation Plan: 2021-2026 , in order to deliver the best outcomes any individual in Scotland who would benefit from kidney transplantation should ideally have no or minimal time on dialysis, thereby avoiding the restrictive diet and some of the health problems associated with dialysis. A pre-emptive transplant (a kidney transplant before the patient needs to start dialysis) has many benefits including a lower risk that the body will reject the new kidney.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on how many whole-time equivalent GPs have (a) been employed and (b) retired or left the profession, in each year since 2019.

Data on the GP Workforce is published annually by NHS Education for Scotland in the report and includes the whole time equivalent number of GPs in Scotland.

Data on the Whole-Time Equivalent GP Workforce is published annually by NHS Education for Scotland (NES) in the report . As of March 2023 the estimated WTE number of GPs (excluding GP registrars/specialist trainees) was 3,478.4, where 1 WTE is defined as 8 contracted sessions per week.

GP headcount is published by NES through the report. In September 2023 there were 5,168 Headcount GPs in Scotland (including GP Registrars on placement in general practice).

NES are due to publish results from the 2024 General Practice Workforce Survey and the 2024 General Practitioner Headcount data later this year.

The requested information on how many graduate nurses have been employed by NHS Scotland in 2024, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) speciality is not centrally held.

Information on the number of nursing staff joining the NHS broken down by band, NHS board and specialty can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: (turnover tab)

Information on how many (a) paediatric and (b) neonatal nurses have been employed by each NHS board, in each of the last five years, can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at:

(Employment over time tab)

The Scottish Government package of support for Scottish domiciled student nurses, midwives and paramedics remains the highest level of support offered in the UK.

Special Advisers are appointed in accordance with Part 1 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 by the First Minister as a Special Adviser for the purpose of providing assistance to the Scottish Ministers. There are currently 12 Special Advisers.

The Scottish Government has published a list of the Special Advisers and their specific portfolio responsibilities at: