Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Huge hike in cost of locum doctors
NHS Tayside forked out almost £460,000 in 2016/17 for stand-in doctors across the region — 16 times what it paid in 2011/12.
It comes amid cash problems for the board, which is faced with having to save millions of pounds in the coming years.
In total, £459,780 was spent i n 2016/17, up from £187,007 the previous year and just £28,554 in 2011/12.
In the three months between April and June this year, a further £91,084 was spent on employing locum GPs.
The massive hike in costs has been partly put down to the board taking control of two local health centres, having not been able to find salaried GPs to fill vacancies.
Lochee came under the control of the board in March 2016, and Brechin in October 2015.
Lochee councillor Charlie Malone said today that the local health centre remaining open was “extremely important” for constituents — despite the costs.
He added: “The continuity of service is absolutely vital.
“People need to be able to see their GP, and within in a reasonable timeframe.
“The costs incurred are obviously a matter for NHS Tayside.”
In August last year, NHS Tayside chief executive Lesley McLay appealed to doctors across the country to help cover shifts in Brechin, after it was revealed the health centre had only one GP.
A spokeswoman for NHS Tayside said it was “absolutely necessary” for the money to be spent to allow a GP service to continue in the health centres under board control.
She added: “During 2015/16, NHS Tayside assumed responsibility for Lochee and Brechin health centres and became responsible for the provision of primary care services and GP cover within these practices.
“The rise in GP locum costs are directly attributed to this. NHS Tayside is spending more money to cover these additional costs.
“This requires to be covered from the overall resources available to NHS Tayside.
“Not all of the cost for GP locums is for the practices.
“Some locum costs are also for the outof-hours service, for example. All workforce costs are set out in the workforce budget.”
HEALTH bosses have seen a huge rise in the costs of paying for locum GPs across Tayside.