General Practice Workforce Survey

This release by NHS Education for Scotland provides information on numbers and vacancies of General Practitioners (GPs), Nurses and other primary care staff in Scotland on 31 March 2025. Absences and use of GP locum staff during the year ending 31 March 2025 are also reported.

• The GP whole time equivalent (WTE) (excluding Specialist Trainees) was 3,591.5 WTE, an increase of 4% from 3,453.1 WTE in 2024.
• The whole time equivalent of nurses in General Practice was 1,735.7 WTE an increase of 1.5%.
• The total WTE in Other Direct Clinical Care occupations was 500.6 WTE.
• There were 9,359 administrative and non-clinical staff,  61% of whom are receptionists.
• The GP vacancy rate was 3.8%, a decrease from 7.6% at 31 March 2024.
• The nursing vacancy rate was 2.8%, a decrease from 4.1% at 31 March 2024.

• The sickness absence rate for GPs was 1.8%, down from 3.0% in 2023/24. For other occupations the sickness absence rate was 2.2%, down from 3.0% in 2023/24.
• GP practices in Scotland reported using 279 WTE Locums, a fall from the previous year.
• The percentage of practices using locums has remained stable. Most NHS Boards saw an increase in the percent of required locum sessions that were filled.