The Staff Vacancies in Care Services 2023 report, published today by the Care Inspectorate and the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC), provides data on vacancies reported by care services as at 31 December 2023. It is based on information registered care services provided as part of their annual returns to the Care Inspectorate.
The previous joint report released revealed that vacancies had reached their highest level since the publication of figures began in 2017.
The report released today shows that 48% of care services were reporting staff vacancies, down from the high of 49% the previous year.
Key points
Staff vacancies
- At 31 December 2023, 48% of services reported having staff vacancies.
- Care homes for older people, housing support services, care at home services, care homes for adults, care homes for children and young people, secure accommodation services, and residential special school care accommodation services all had a proportion of services with vacancies significantly above the national average for all care services.
- Edinburgh, Dundee, Midlothian and North Lanarkshire local authority areas had a significantly higher proportion of services with vacancies than the national average for all care services.
- In 12 of the 32 local authority areas, 50% or more services reported vacancies.
- At 31 December 2023, the rate of whole time equivalent (WTE) vacancies for all services in Scotland was 7.5%, down from 8.7% in 2022.
- Nurse agency services, care at home services and housing support services had a significantly higher rate of WTE vacancies than the national average.
Nursing vacancies
- At 31 December 2023, 52% of services reported having nursing vacancies (where services employed nurses). This was a decrease of 9 percentage points on the proportion of services with vacancies at 31 December 2022 (61%).
- At 31 December 2023, the rate of WTE nursing vacancies for all services (where services employed nurses) in Scotland was 12.4%, down from 17.4% in 2022.
Problems filling vacancies and reasons given
- At 31 December 2023, 63% of services with vacancies reported having problems filling them; the same proportion as in 2022.
- Too few applicants in general (66%), too few applicants with experience (63%), and too few qualified applicants (53%) were the most common themes within most service types that reported problems filling vacancies.
Supporting social service careers
Maree Allison, Chief Executive of the Scottish Social Services Council, said: ‘It’s essential we continue to prioritise our work to attract people into careers in social services, providing accessible training, learning and qualifications for people before and after they join the workforce. We need to make sure workers feel valued, respected and supported to continue their social service careers.
‘This report is just one aspect of the workforce planning activities undertaken by the Care Inspectorate and the SSSC. Both organisations will continue to work closely with Scottish Government and others to help employers to recruit, retain and develop their staff.’
Jackie Irvine, Chief Executive of the Care Inspectorate, said: ‘The report highlights the extent of the current recruitment and retention challenges being faced by the sector at a time when services are experiencing continued pressure.
‘We know there are still many parts of the social service sector finding it challenging to fill vacancies, and this has been a persistent issue for several years. We remain grateful for the dedication and commitment of the skilled and qualified workforce to those experiencing care during these challenging times.’