NURSING leaders have claimed figures that show an increase in the workforce are misleading because they include interns.
The statistics showed an increase of 333 nurses and midwives in the NHS in Scotland in March compared to the end of last year.
But Ellen Hudson, associate director of the Royal College of Nursing Scotland, said it was "not a true reflection" of the numbers.
She said: "While we disagree with making cuts to the nursing workforce to balance books, health boards have cut nearly 950 nursing and midwifery staff in post, pretty much in line with their projections for 2011-12.
"This quarter's small increase can largely be put down to the inclusion of nursing interns in the figures, so is not a true reflection of the nursing workforce. Neither does it mean the end of workforce cuts. Projections for the current year are still to be published and we are aware of a number of health boards who are looking at more cuts this year."
Labour spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: "It's very disappointing and a little desperate that the SNP Government are using interns to mask the cuts they have made to NHS staffing levels.
"Interns are an invaluable resource but they are there to learn, not to act as fig leaves for the SNP's inability to protect the health service.
"Over a two-and-a-half-year period, Scotland has lost almost 2500 nurses."
Tory health spokesman Jackson Carlaw said the figures showed the Government was "making up numbers by putting people, who may not be ready or qualified, in a position where they have to take on the nursing workload".
He added: "It is deceiving to release figures suggesting a rise in the workforce, when anyone examining the statistics can see the real story."
A Government spokeswoman said: "These interns are fully qualified nurses who are a valuable resource to the NHS and should not be undervalued."
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