Vacancy surveys

Overview

NES collect vacancy information quarterly by surveys for a range of staff groups. Data are provided by NHS Boards for the number of vacant posts at a census (31 March, 30 June, 30 September, 31 December).

A vacancy is defined as "a post which has been cleared for advert after being through the redeployment process (internal or external advert) and remains a vacancy until an individual starts in the post".

Vacancy data are collected for the five staff groups:

• Medical and dental consultants,
• Nursing and midwifery,
• Allied health professions,
• Child and adolescent mental health,
• Psychology service

There is a survey per staff group, and the survey items vary.

What data are published

After receiving the completed surveys, NES process, apply quality assurance checks and report these data in the official statistics publications. Medical and dental consultants, nursing and midwifery and allied health professions are reported quarterly in the NHSScotland Workforce official statistics publication. The child and adolescent mental health survey and Psychology services survey are reported quarterly in their respective publications.

The key information released in each publication are:

• Number of posts vacant at the census by NHS Board and length of vacancy.
• Vacancy rate at the census date by NHS Board.

Other breakdowns are available where the data are gathered, for example vacancies by specialty for medical and dental consultant vacancies.

Background

Medical and dental consultants

Vacancy data are collected from each NHS Board for the number of vacant medical and dental consultant posts by the medical specialty and vacancy length (less than 6 months and 6 months or more). The list of medical specialties used to collect vacancy data are identical to those published for staff in post. 

Data are provided by whole time equivalent and headcount.

Nursing and midwifery

Vacancy data are collected from each NHS Board for the number of vacant nursing and midwifery posts by the sub job family, agenda for change band, location of service delivery and vacancy length (less than 3 months, 3 - 6 months, and 6 months or more). 

Data in the survey are collected for a reduced number of sub job families compared with the sub job families in the staff in post SWISS data. The following staff in post sub job families are collected under a grouping of "other" in the vacancy survey: bank, blood transfusion service, community children's nursing, sexual and reproductive health nursing, neonatal, NHS 24, specialist nursing, practice nursing, staff nursery, training and administration, and treatment room nursing. A full mapping is available.

Data are provided by whole time equivalent.

Allied health professionals

Vacancy data are collected from each NHS Board for the number of vacant posts for staff working in the allied health profession (AHP) staff group by the following: sub job family, agenda for change band group (e.g. support or qualified) and vacancy length (less than 3 months, 3 months or more and unknown).

The list of AHP sub job families used to collect vacancy data are identical to those published for staff in post. However, vacant posts for multi-skilled and arts therapy are only collected for support staff (AfC Band 1-4). Similarly, vacant posts for paramedics are only collected for qualified staff (AfC Band 5-9).

Data are provided by whole time equivalent.

Child and adolescent mental health

Vacancy data are collected from service for the number of vacant posts by the following: professional group, post title, agenda for change band, area of work, date the post was first advertised, contract term (e.g. fixed term or Permanent).

Data are provided by whole time equivalent. The length of vacancy is calculated using the date the post was first advertised and reported by groups 0-3 months, 3-6 months, over 6 months and unknown.

Psychology services

Vacancy data are collected from service for the number of vacant posts by the following: professional group, post title, agenda for change band, area of work, target age, date the post was first advertised, contract term (e.g. fixed term or Permanent).

Data are provided by whole time equivalent. The length of vacancy is calculated using the date the post was first advertised and reported by groups 0-3 months, 3-6 months, over 6 months and unknown.

Further information

Vacancy rate is calculated by dividing the number of vacancies by the sum of the staff in post and vacancies.

Quality assurance

A number of steps are in place to ensure that these data are reported accurately.

1. Each excel survey is provided to NHS Boards two weeks before the census to complete for the staff group. The survey are completed by people working in the service, Workforce and / or HR directorates. and signed off by the director of pharmacy at each Board. 
   
   
2. These surveys are completed using a variety of methods depending on the supplier and the staff group. For example, CAMHS and Psychology surveys are completed by staff working in the service. NHS Boards HR or Workforce directorate provides data using JobTrain recruitment system, whereas others Boards rely on staff within the service to provide these data for the consultants, nursing and midwifery and allied health professions survey.
   
   
3. Once these data have been returned to NES, each survey is checked for any completion errors or missing information, and compared with previous figures for consistency. When required, NES clarify any potential issues with data providers.
   
   
4. These data are then processed to combine all extracts together and updated in reporting software, PowerBI. The report is then checked to ensure the values are shown accurately and any additional data intelligence are noted.
   
   

The above quality assurance processes result in trustworthy information being released as part of the NHSScotland Workforce publication and reduce the likelihood of any issues arising after publication. In the event that we are made of any major data inaccuracies we will update any outputs in line with our revision protocol. 

Limitations

These surveys collect aggregated data which means that it is not possible to track the progression of vacant posts over time, nor link posts to vacancies.

Significant time and effort is required by personnel in NHS Boards to complete these surveys. All Boards use the JobTrain recruitment system to manage local recruitment. NES are currently investigating the use of this system to provide vacancy figures. Currently, the variety in methods used to complete the survey (as identified in step 2 above) poses issues for data accuracy and consistency.

There are some gaps in the data collected. More specifically, the surveys do not cover all staff groups and grades / bands. For the staff groups that are in scope, the survey items do not include all possible breakdowns. For example, only a subset of nursing and midwifery sub job families are captured.

ISD (now PHS) refined the vacancy definition in 2014 in collaboration with NHS Boards and the Scottish Government. Users of the data should be aware of the following.

• Adding the staff in post and total vacancies together will likely over-count the establishment. For example, if a member of staff is working their notice period, but their post is being advertised, then the post would be counted twice (one staff in post plus one vacancy).
  
  
• Posts are counted as vacant until someone starts. This means that some vacant post reported may have already been filled (but the person hasn't started yet).