Welsh health boards spent over £500m on agency staff
SIX Welsh NHS health boards have spent a total of more than half a billion pounds on agency staff in the past four years.
The figures show that while some health boards have managed to reduce their dependence on agency staff since 2016, others have seen a near doubling of their use over the same period.
Agency nurses are brought in by health boards to fill gaps in rotas due to high vacancy rates or sickness levels.
Agency working can be seen as a more attractive career option for some nurses as it offers flexibility, control over hours and shift patterns, as well as higher rates of pay.
But it has been suggested these more lucrative positions are driving nurses away from the Welsh NHS, making it far harder for NHS managers to recruit staff and plan their workforce.
The figures, which were acquired by a Freedom of Information request from the Welsh Conservative Party, do not include Cardiff and Vale Health Board as it has yet to disclose the cost covering the period from financial year 2016-17 to 2019-20.
The figures show:
■ a total of £550,116,528 was spent on agency staff between 2016-20;
■ three of the six health boards which responded had seen an increase in agency spending over the past four years;
■ Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board saw agency spend soar from £21m in 2017 to just under £40m in 2020;
■ Aneurin Bevan Health Board saw a year-on-year increase from almost £16m in 2016 to £26m in 2020; and
■ Powys Health Board saw a 52% increase in agency spend with an increase from £3.4m to £5.2m.
The figures also showed the astonishing differences in what different health boards are paying per staff. For instance, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board spent on average £39,891 on each full-time equivalent agency staff member for each year from 2017
20. By contrast Aneurin Bevan spent £183,486 between 2016-20. The other four health boards who replied said they didn’t hold that data.
One piece of good news from the data is that the all health boards had increased their spending on bank workers. Though bank workers are not permanent members of staff, they are paid the same rate as normal staff members so are a useful and costeffective way to meet staffing shotfalls.
Helen Whyley, director of the Royal College of Nursing Wales, said: “The bottom line is that Wales needs more registered nurses to deliver a high standard of patient care. The nursing shortage is evident in the NHS not only because of the increased spend on agency nursing but also the vacancy rate and the shortage of registered nurses in the independent sector.
“Nurses often move to work for agencies to ensure control over their own hours of work and to receive a higher rate of pay. Better pay is the reason that the RCN has just launched its Fair Pay for Nursing Campaign.
“In addition, control over hours worked is therefore extremely important and necessary for nurses and healthcare support workers. If NHS Wales is to retain its nursing staff, it needs to modernise its HR provision to allow nurses more flexibility over when they work. RCN Wales has demanded that the Welsh Government produce a comprehensive retention strategy for nursing professionals in Wales.”
The shadow minister for health, social care and sport, Andrew RT Davies MS, said: “It is nothing short of a scandal that after more than two decades this Welsh Labour-led Government is still holding back our NHS. Mismanaging funding, refusal to listen to staff – you name it, the Welsh Labourled Government is doing it.
“Spending large funds on agency staff is a short-term solution, when NHS Wales needs a sustainable, long-term one. More than half a billion pounds would have been better spent on recruiting, reskilling and retaining essential health professionals. It is key that we not only equip staff with the necessary tools but also retain them.
“The Welsh Conservatives have a catalogue of robust measures which, if elected as the Welsh Government next year, will be swiftly introduced to revitalise our Welsh NHS, including a £34m-a-year scheme on offering nursing apprenticeships.”
The Welsh Government has been approached for comment.