Costly dependence on locums to support patients at Carseview

NHS Tayside is having to rely on locums to provide medical cover at its Carseview Centre.

The health board currently has four vacancies for consultants at Carseview as well as four unfilled training posts.

All of the roles are currently being covered by locums.

A spokesperson for NHS Tayside said: “Providing clinically safe and effective care is always our priority when we are staffing our wards and services.

“Like many other health boards, NHS Tayside is affected by a national shortage in some specialist services and professions, including consultant psychiatrists.

“While some short or longer-term workforce requirements can mean the use of agency staffing is necessary, our nursing and midwifery policies ensure that any use of agency staff is only considered as a final option.

“Locum doctors and consultants provide NHS Tayside with a valuable interim resource to support the provision of patient services.”

Between April and November last year, NHS Tayside spent more than £1.1 million on agency costs for its general adult psychiatry services.

In the full financial year of 2016-17 the total agency spend for general adult psychiatry was £1,755,400 – more than any other department in NHS Tayside.

In its review of mental health services last year, NHS Tayside said the use of locum doctors is “challenging” for both staff and patients, with some patients seeing four different consultants during their stays.

In February 2017, inpatients beds, which had previously been available at the Mulberry Unit in Angus were temporarily moved to the Carseview Centre due to a shortage of junior doctors and the switch was made permanent earlier this year.

Last month The Courier revealed that routine psychiatric appointments in Angus were being cancelled because of the shortage of mental health specialists.

The health board wrote to patients explaining it had been unable to fill two of its four community consultant psychiatry posts.

It said its remaining psychiatry consultants are being made available for emergency and urgent cover in all areas of Angus community mental health services.

Figures released in June also revealed 44 patients in Tayside had to wait 12 months to begin treatment for mental health issues in 2017-18.

NHS Tayside is affected by a national shortage in some specialist services and professions, including consultant psychiatrists