£2K A SHIFT FOR LOCUM ISLES MEDIC
MSP slams ‘wasteful’ spending
A CRISIS in GP cover is forcing an NHS board to pay more than £2000 for a single shift.
NHS Western Isles said they paid £2070 for a 12-hour locum job in 2015-16, from an annual bill of £116,314.
Last year, the total shrunk to £21,620 – but the most expensive locum shift still cost £1886.
An agency website put the going rate for GP locum work in Scotland at £732 for a 12-hour shift.
Last night, a spokesman for the board said: “NHS Western Isles do experience difficulty in recruiting into some consultant medical, GP, allied health professional and specialist nursing posts.”
The figures were revealed following a freedom of information request by the Scottish Tories.
Highlands and Islands MSP Donald Cameron said: “Everyone appreciates the difficulties which sometimes arise in finding GP cover for remote island communities.
“But for anyone to be paid £2000 for a single shift by the NHS is extreme.
“Money is tight right across the health service and patients who see examples like this will find it wasteful and excessive.”
Last week, Holyrood heard how two GP surgeries in Lanarkshire made a “cry for help” over the huge cost of getting cover.
And last month, Scotland’s public spending body highlighted pressures on general practice, problems keeping hold of staff and low morale.
A Holyrood spokesman said: “Funding for GP recruitment and retention has increased fivefold to £5million this year, supporting initiatives in the Western Isles and other rural communities – including the Scottish Rural Medicine Collaborative, which is developing ways to recruit and retain GPs in a rural setting.”