Staff a gyflogir yn uniongyrchol gan y GIG: ar 30 Medi 2024
Data am staff meddygol, deintyddol, nyrsio a bydwreigiaeth, ar 30 Medi 2024. Saesneg yn unig.
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Introduction
This statistical release provides summary statistics on staff directly employed by NHS Wales and focusses on the number of full-time equivalent staff employed on the last day of the latest available quarter. The release includes analyses by staff group and staff characteristics at Wales level. Data categorised by occupational code and NHS organisations are published on StatsWales.
The statistics are sourced from the NHS Electronic Staff Record, provided by Health Education and Improvement Wales. Staffing levels are best measured by using full-time equivalent (FTE) data as FTE accounts for part-time working. One FTE is the equivalent of a person working the standard hours for their grade (usually 37.5 hours a week) and more detail is provided in the quality report. Overall headcount numbers are also published (StatsWales) and are used for analysis of staff characteristics (StatsWales).
Workforce data for primary care services such as general medical practitioners (GPs) (StatsWales) and NHS dental practitioners (StatsWales) are not included in this release and are published separately as they are independent NHS contractors.
Main points
The total number of FTE NHS staff has been consistently increasing over the last decade and between 30 September 2023 and 2024 increased by 2,561 (2.7%) to 98,007, the highest on record.
Between 30 September 2023 and 30 September 2024, in terms of full-time equivalents (FTE):
- medical and dental staff increased by 466 (5.8%) to 8,569
- nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff increased by 1,354 (3.6%) to 39,317
- scientific, therapeutic and technical staff increased by 499 (3.0%) to 17,127
- administration and estates staff increased by 246 (1.0%) to 23,961
- ambulance staff decreased by 13 (0.4%) to 3,005
- healthcare assistants and other support staff increased by 12 (0.2%) to 5,912
Where characteristic data was recorded, on 30 September 2024:
- the majority (77%) of the workforce was female
- nearly four out of five (79%) were 55 years old or younger; 19% were 56 to 65 years old; and 2% were 66 years or older
- 93% had no disability recorded
- nine out of ten (90%) had UK nationality; 7% had non-EU nationalities and 2% had EU or EEA nationalities
- nearly nine out of ten (89%) were from any White ethnic group; 6% were from any Asian ethnic group; 2% were from any Black ethnic group; 2% were from Other ethnic groups and 1% were from Mixed ethnic groups
Summary of staff directly employed
Figure 1: Number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff directly employed by NHS Wales on 30 September, 2015 to 2024
Description of Figure 1: Line chart showing that the number of FTE staff has increased over the last 10 years, with a sharper increase since 2019.
Source: Electronic Staff Record, Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW)
NHS staff summary by staff group and year on StatsWales
In total, there were 98,007 FTE staff directly employed by NHS Wales on 30 September 2024. This was an increase of 2.7% from the previous year and is the highest on record.
There has been a large increase in the total number of FTE staff over the long-term, with almost a third (32.5%) more staff on 30 September 2024 than there were on 30 September 2015.
Figure 2: Number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff directly employed by NHS Wales on 30 September, by staff group, 2015 to 2024
Description of Figure 2: Line charts showing a long-term upward trend in the number of FTE staff for medical and dental; nursing; scientific, technical and therapeutic; administration and estates; and ambulance staff groups. The FTE of healthcare assistants has remained at a broadly similar level.
Source: Electronic Staff Record, Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW)
NHS staff summary by staff group and year on StatsWales
[Note 1] Includes midwifery and health visiting staff.
[Note 2] Healthcare assistants (HCAs) and other support staff.
8.7% of FTE of all staff on 30 September 2024 were medical and dental staff. The number of staff in this group has increased each year over the last ten years and has increased by more than a third (39.6%) since 30 September 2015.
The upward trend has been more prominent in recent years and there were more than a quarter additional (28.0%) medical and dental staff on 30 September 2024, than there were on 30 September 2019. The annual percentage increases in FTE have been greater in each year since the pandemic than in the years prior to the pandemic.
Four in ten (or 40.1%) of all staff FTE were nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff on 30 September 2024, the largest staff group. There has been a steady long-term upward trend with staff increasing by almost a quarter (23.2%) since 30 September 2015.
17.5% of FTE of all staff on 30 September 2024 were scientific, therapeutic and technical staff. The number of staff in this group has increased every year for the last ten years and was 43.1% higher on 30 September 2024 than on 30 September 2015.
Nearly a quarter (or 24.4%) of FTE of all staff on 30 September 2024 were in the administration and estates group. The number of staff in this group has increased every year for the last ten years and was 52.1% higher on 30 September 2024 than on 30 September 2015 and is the staff group that has seen the largest growth in the last decade. However, the latest annual increase of 1.0% is the lowest increase in the last decade.
3.1% of FTE of all staff on 30 September 2024 were ambulance staff. Significant changes to the ambulance section of the NHS Occupation Codes Manual between 2018 and 2019 limit long term comparisons, but there were nearly a quarter (23.6%) more ambulance staff on 30 September 2024 than on 30 September 2019.
6.0% of FTE of all staff on 30 September 2024 were healthcare assistants (HCAs) and other support staff. HCAs and other support staff have remained broadly stable over the last ten years, with some small year-to-year fluctuations. The short-term fluctuations are in-part due to the re-coding of some HCAs to nursing assistants/auxiliaries. Further information is available in the quality report.
Medical and dental staff
Figure 3: Number of full-time equivalent (FTE) hospital medical staff on 30 September, 2015 to 2024
Description of Figure 3: Line chart showing that the number of FTE hospital medical staff of all grades has increased over the last 10 years, with marked increases since 2019. The FTE number of consultants has also increased since 2015.
Source: Electronic Staff Record, Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW)
NHS medical and dental staff by grade and year on StatsWales
While a small number of staff in this group are dentists working in hospitals and medical and dental professionals working in the community, the majority of staff are ‘hospital medical staff’, which captures various grades of doctors who work in hospital settings.
On 30 September 2024, there were 8,138 FTE hospital medical staff, 5.9% higher than on the same date in the previous year and 41.2% higher than on the same date in 2015.
Consultants are the most senior grade of hospital doctors and are specialists in a particular field of medicine. Of the 8,138 FTE hospital medical staff, 2,914 FTE were hospital medical consultants, 3.1% higher than on the same date in the previous year and 29.2% higher than on the same date in 2015.
There were an additional 182 FTE hospital dental staff, 4.6% higher than on the same date in the previous year and 10.4% higher than on the same date in 2015. Of these, 55 FTE were hospital dental consultants, which has remained broadly consistent over the decade.
A further 249 FTE staff were Public Health & Community Health Services medical and dental staff, 1.0% higher than on the same date in the previous year.
Nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff
Figure 4: Number of full-time equivalent (FTE) nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff on 30 September, 2015 to 2024
Description of Figure 4: Line chart showing an increase in the number of all FTE nursing staff, over the last 10 years, with marked increases from 2019. The number of registered nurses has remained broadly double the number of support staff.
Source: Electronic Staff Record, Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW)
Nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff, by grade and area of work on StatsWales
Registered nurses and midwifes are qualified staff who are registered to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and are governed by the NMC Code. On 30 September 2024 there were 26,765 FTE registered nursing and midwifery staff, 5.0% higher than on the same date in the previous year and over a fifth (20.6%) higher than on the same date in 2015.
Nursing support staff are those who work with registered nurses to deliver patient care but are not registered to the NMC. On 30 September 2024 there were 12,552 FTE nursing support staff, 0.7% higher than on the same date in the previous year and 29.2% higher than on the same date in 2015.
Staff characteristics
This release includes analyses on NHS Wales staff characteristics. Headcount numbers are used for this analysis. Statistics for all staff, and by selected staff groups, are presented on gender, age band, disability, nationality and ethnicity. Additional data for individual organisations is available on StatsWales.
Staff characteristics statistics are based on records where a known status was recorded and therefore provide an indication of the characteristic breakdown of NHS staff in Wales. Where records are not stated or missing, the percentage is included within each section indicating the level of uncertainty with these statistics. If the staff with missing data have a systemically different characteristic profile than those with a known status, these statistics would change.
Some staff work in more than one staff group and/or organisation; they are counted individually where appropriate but only once at Wales level.
Statistics shown in Figures 5 to 12 are rounded to the nearest per cent. Totals presented may not sum to 100%.
The ‘other staff’ group includes some healthcare assistants, other support staff and other non-medical staff.
Figure 5: Percentage of staff directly employed by NHS Wales by staff group and gender, 30 September 2024
Description of Figure 5: Stacked bar chart showing that the majority of staff were female in most staff groups, including: nursing, midwifery and health visiting; scientific, therapeutic and technical; administration and estates; and other staff. Ambulance staff and medical and dental staff had a larger percentage of male staff.
Source: Electronic Staff Record, Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW)
Per cent of NHS staff by organisation, staff group and gender on StatsWales
On 30 September 2024, 77% of all NHS staff in Wales were female, and 23% were male, unchanged from the previous year. The large percentage of female staff is partly explained by nine out of ten of the largest staff group (nursing, midwifery and health visiting) being female.
Close to three quarters of the staff in both the scientific, therapeutic and technical (77%), and administration and estates (74%) staff groups were female.
There were two staff groups where there were more males than females, these were ambulance staff (57% male) and medical and dental staff (53% male).
Figure 6: Percentage of staff directly employed by NHS Wales by age band, 30 September 2024
Description of Figure 6: Bar chart showing that the percentage of staff directly employed by NHS Wales is fairly evenly spread between the ages of 26 and 60. There were fewer staff in the youngest and oldest age bands.
Source: Electronic Staff Record, Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW)
Per cent of NHS staff by organisation, staff group and age band on StatsWales
On 30 September 2024, 7% of staff were aged 25 or younger, unchanged from the previous year, while 10% were aged 61 or older, an increase of one percentage point from the previous year.
The large majority of staff (84%) were aged between 26 and 60, spread broadly similarly over all five-year age bands within this age range. Nearly half (48%) of all staff were aged between 26 and 45, one percentage point higher than in the previous year; while just over at third (36%) of all staff were aged between 46 and 60, one percentage point lower than in the previous year.
Figure 7: Percentage of medical and dental staff by age band, 30 September 2024
Description of Figure 7: Bar chart showing that there was a high proportion of medical and dental staff in younger age groups, peaking in the 31 to 35 age band. There was a decrease in the percentage of staff in each age band after this point.
Source: Electronic Staff Record, Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW)
Per cent of NHS staff by organisation, staff group and age band on StatsWales
There was a higher proportion of medical and dental staff in the younger age bands when compared to all NHS staff on 30 September 2024. Almost half (49%) of medical and dental staff were aged between 26 and 40, unchanged from the previous year; while one in twenty (5%) were aged 61 or older, one percentage point higher than in the previous year.
Figure 8: Percentage of nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff by age band, 30 September 2024
Description of Figure 8: Bar chart showing a broadly similar spread of the percentage of nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff across each five-year age band between the ages of 26 and 60. There were fewer staff in the youngest and oldest age bands.
Source: Electronic Staff Record, Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW)
Per cent of NHS staff by organisation, staff group and age band on StatsWales
The age distribution of nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff was broadly similar to the distribution of all NHS staff on 30 September 2024. 7% of staff were aged 25 or younger and 8% were aged 61 or older, both unchanged from the previous year.
The large majority of staff in this group (85%) were aged between 26 and 60, spread broadly similarly over all five-year age bands within this age range. Nearly half (49%) of all staff in this group were aged between 26 and 45, one percentage point higher than in the previous year; while just more than a third (36%) of all staff were aged between 46 and 60, one percentage point lower than in the previous year.
Age distributions for other staff groups are available on StatsWales.
Figure 9: Percentage of staff directly employed by NHS Wales by disability status, 30 September 2024 [Note 1]
Description of Figure 9: Stacked bar chart showing that the percentage of staff with a disability recorded is similar for each staff group, with the exception of medical and dental which is lower.
Source: Electronic Staff Record, Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW)
Per cent of NHS staff by organisation, staff group and disability on StatsWales
[Note 1] 17% of records on 30 September 2024 had missing or undisclosed disability status; this compares to 21% in the previous year.
Of all staff with a known disability status on 30 September 2024, 93% self-reported that they had no disability, one percentage point lower than in the previous year; while 7% reported they had a disability, one percentage point higher than in the previous year.
A lower proportion of medical and dental staff had a disability recorded (3%) than all other staff groups. There was less variation across other staff groups with the percentage of staff with a disability recorded ranging from 6% in the nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff group to 9% for the ambulance staff group.
Figure 10: Percentage of staff directly employed by NHS Wales by nationality, 30 September 2024 [Note 1]
Description of Figure 10: Pie chart showing the large majority of staff have UK recorded as their nationality. Of the staff who were not recorded as UK nationals, there were more non-EU staff than EU and EEA (European Union and European Economic Area) staff.
Source: Electronic Staff Record, Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW)
Per cent of NHS staff by organisation, staff group and nationality on StatsWales
[Note 1] 11% of records on 30 September 2024 had missing or undisclosed nationality data; this compares to 13% in the previous year.
Of all staff with known nationality on 30 September 2024, 90% had UK nationality, one percentage point lower than on the same date last year; 7% had non-EU nationalities, one percentage point higher than on the same date last year; and 2% had EU or EEA nationalities, unchanged from the same date last year.
Data by staff group is available on StatsWales and shows that the medical and dental staff group had more variation than the other staff groups. Two thirds (66%) of medical and dental staff with known nationality had UK nationality, just over a quarter (28%) had non-EU nationalities, while 6% had EU or EEA nationalities.
Of the other staff groups, 99% of ambulance staff were recorded as UK nationals (the highest of any group), while 90% of nursing staff were UK nationals (the lowest of the non-medical and dental staff groups).
Figure 11: Percentage of staff directly employed by NHS Wales by ethnic group, 30 September 2023 and 2024 [Note 1]
Description for Figure 11: Bar chart showing that the large majority of staff were recorded in White ethnic groups. The next highest ethnic group was Asian/Asian British, while there were fewer staff in the remaining ethnic groups.
Source: Electronic Staff Record, Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW)
Per cent of NHS staff by organisation, staff group and ethnicity on StatsWales
[Note 1] 10% of records on 30 September 2024 had missing or undisclosed ethnicity data, two percentage points less than the previous year.
Of all staff with a known ethnic group on 30 September 2024, a little less than nine out of ten (89%) were from White ethnic groups; this is a lower proportion compared to the general population of Wales (94%), according to the Census 2021 (ONS).
Just over one in twenty (6%) were from any Asian ethnic group, while 2% were from any Black ethnic group and 2% were from Other ethnic groups. The proportion of staff from these ethnic groups were more than double that compared to the general population.
1% of staff were from Mixed ethnic groups; a similar proportion compared to the general population.
The spread of staff between ethnic groups was broadly similar to the same date in the previous year.
Figure 12: Percentage of medical and dental staff by ethnic group, 30 September 2023 and 2024 [Note 1]
Description for Figure 12: Bar chart showing that the spread of ethnic groups for medical and dental staff in Wales was different than the spread for all NHS staff. While the large majority of staff are recorded in White ethnic groups, there was a higher percentage of staff in all other ethnic groups.
Source: Electronic Staff Record, Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW)
Per cent of NHS staff by organisation, staff group and ethnicity on StatsWales
[Note 1] 16% of medical and dental staff had missing ethnicity data on 30 September 2024, compared to 38% in the previous year.
There was more variation in the distribution of ethnic groups in medical and dental staff than in all other staff groups on 30 September 2024. Nearly six out of ten (57%) staff were from any White ethnic group, while over a quarter (26%) staff were from any Asian ethnic group.
The proportion of any Black ethnic group, Mixed ethnic group and Other ethnic groups were all higher than in any other staff group.
Quality and methodology information
The data is sourced from the NHS Electronic Staff Record provided by Health Education and Improvement Wales. Further information is available in the quality report.
The number of staff directly employed by the NHS has some seasonal patterns, linked to set times in the year when newly qualified staff can be recruited into permanent roles. As such, comparisons are made with the same quarter from the previous year.
When based on full-time equivalent (FTE) figures, the percentages in this release are rounded to the nearest 0.1. When based on headcount figures, the percentages in this release are rounded to the nearest per cent. Percentage point changes are calculated based on the unrounded numbers.
Data on Sickness absence in the NHS and vacancies in NHS Wales are published on a quarterly basis. Note that there are minor differences in how staff groups are defined between the releases. These are detailed in the quality report.
Full details of quality issues identified with the data in recent years are provided in the quality report.
Statement of compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics
Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.
All of our statistics are produced and published in accordance with a number of statements and protocols to enhance trustworthiness, quality and value. These are set out in the Welsh Government’s Statement of Compliance.
These official statistics demonstrate the standards expected around trustworthiness, quality and public value in the following ways.
Trustworthiness
A quarterly extract is downloaded from the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) Data Warehouse detailing all NHS staff in Wales on the ESR at the last day of the quarter. Data is submitted from Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) on Excel spreadsheets via Objective Connect, a web-based tool to securely share and receive files.
The published figures are compiled by professional analysts using the latest available data and applying methods using their professional judgement and analytical skillset.
These statistics are pre-announced on the Statistics and Research area of the Welsh Government website. Access to the data during processing is restricted to those involved in the production of the statistics, quality assurance and for operational purposes. Pre-release access is restricted to eligible recipients in line with the Code of Practice (UK Statistics Authority).
Quality
Our statistics are produced to high professional standards and are produced free from any political interference.
Validation checks are performed by Welsh Government statisticians and queries referred to HEIW and other NHS organisations where necessary. Staff are grouped based on occupation code within ESR, and published data aligns the main groups referred to in the NHS Occupation Code Manual.
The statistical release is approved by senior statisticians before publication. Data is published in line with statement on confidentiality and data access each quarter.
As the ESR is a live system and data extracts are taken from it, data presented may be revised in future editions of the statistical release. Over recent years a number of quality issues have been identified with the data, some of which have been resolved. To help users to interpret the data and understand where those limitations may be; these are described more clearly in the quality report.
Value
The purpose of the statistical release is to inform users about staffing levels in NHS Wales. This information is published alongside data on sickness absence in the NHS and vacancies in NHS Wales to give a more complete picture of the staff directly employed by the NHS workforce.
Statistics are published quarterly with a three-month lag between the reference period of the latest statistics and publication. The statistics are published with brief analysis and commentary, in addition to open data format tables which are published on StatsWales. A more detailed statistical release is published for data on 30 September each year.
You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.
Well-being of Future Generations Act (WFG)
The Well-being of Future Generations Act 2015 is about improving the social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of Wales. The Act puts in place seven wellbeing goals for Wales. These are for a more equal, prosperous, resilient, healthier and globally responsible Wales, with cohesive communities and a vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language. Under section (10)(1) of the Act, the Welsh Ministers must (a) publish indicators (“national indicators”) that must be applied for the purpose of measuring progress towards the achievement of the wellbeing goals, and (b) lay a copy of the national indicators before Senedd Cymru. Under section 10(8) of the Well-being of Future Generations Act, where the Welsh Ministers revise the national indicators, they must as soon as reasonably practicable (a) publish the indicators as revised and (b) lay a copy of them before the Senedd. These national indicators were laid before the Senedd in 2021. The indicators laid on 14 December 2021 replace the set laid on 16 March 2016.
Information on the indicators, along with narratives for each of the wellbeing goals and associated technical information is available in the Wellbeing of Wales report.
Further information on the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.
The statistics included in this release could also provide supporting narrative to the national indicators and be used by public services boards in relation to their local wellbeing assessments and local wellbeing plans.