SCANDAL OF £30M LOCUM DOCS BILL
Temp psychiatrist cost an ‘expensive patch-up job’
THE NHS in Scotland spent nearly £30million on locum psychiatrists in a year.
Figures obtained by freedom of information requests showed Scotland’s 14 health boards splashed out £29,606,336 on them in 2022-23. This was up nearly £10million – 50 per cent – from three years ago, with the spend in the 2019-2020 financial year at £19,868,166. It comes after the Record reported earlier this month that one Scottish health board spent a staggering £1.2million in a year on just two locum psychiatrists.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland said the use of agency locums by the NHS is “a massively expensive patch-up job that doesn’t fix the problem”.
Locum doctors generally cost the NHS more money because they are on short-term contracts. They can cost two or three times the funds of a permanent doctor and agency fees also drive up the cost.
Dr Jim Crabb, of RCPsych in Scotland, said: “To fix our broken mental health system, we need properly trained and qualified consultant psychiatrists who can teach and train junior staff.
“Using agency locums to patch up gaping wounds in NHS is like using a sticking plaster made out of gold.”
Labour’s health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said “eye-watering sums of money are being wasted plugging gaps created by SNP incompetence” while Lib Dem MSP Willie Rennie pointed to “a longterm refusal to invest in staffing and capacity”.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said “We are working with colleagues across NHS Scotland to explore how we can reduce our reliance on medical locums.”