The Healthcare Science workforce

We are the 4th largest group of NHS staff with over 6000 Healthcare Scientists in post across NHS Scotland. We play a key role in providing safe and accurate patient services:

• We carry out tests and investigations that assist in the diagnosis or monitoring of a disease/condition
• We are involved in approximately 80% of clinical decisions within hospitals
• We are also involved in clinical research – advancing how we test patients to make it quicker and better

The Healthcare Science workforce is comprised of a range of staff: support workers, technicians, practitioners, cytologists, Clinical Scientists and Biomedical Scientists. Many staff within physical and physiological services are on accredited registers via their professional bodies or through the Academy for Healthcare Science (AHCS) overseen by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). Many physiologists are registered with the Registration Council for Clinical Physiologists. Clinical Scientists within all disciplines are statutorily registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), as are Biomedical Scientists within Life Sciences.

There are opportunities for Healthcare Scientists to become involved in quality related roles, e.g. project management, information technology, and education and training.