Plaid ‘would take profit out’ of nursing agencies
AGENCIES which supply nurses to the Welsh NHS should be “not for profit” to ease mounting financial pressures on the health service.
Rhun ap Iorwerth AM made the assertion in his speech to Plaid Cymru’s annual conference in Caernarfon.
Recent figures reveal that the amount the Welsh NHS spends on agency staff has increased by 60% in the past 12 months.
The British Medical Association said the reliance on locums needs to be “urgently addressed”.
Ynys Môn AM said: “Health boards across Wales are spending millions every week on agency staff. At the same time agencies are profiting.
“A Plaid Cymru government will take the profit out of agency staffing. As Health Secretary, I would make sure we had a not-for-profit model for supplying agency doctors and nurses, as we build up the longer term resilience and sustainability of our fulltime workforce.”
Mr Iorwerth added that the NHS in Wales faces crises in “recruitment and retention”. He said: “Workforce planning is one of the biggest challenges. It is shameful that Labour, running the NHS in Wales for 18 years, has taken its eye off the ball to such an extent that we now face crises in recruitment and retention
“That’s why I’m determined not to let up in our campaign for a new centre to teach doctors here in the north of our country.”
According to a Freedom of Information request by Welsh Conservatives, health boards collectively spent £128.9m on agency doctors and nurses in 2015-16 compared to £80.25m the previous year.
It means the Welsh NHS spent almost £2.5m a week paying these employees in 2015-16. Typically agency nurses cost around 50% more.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Health boards, with our support, are working to address recruitment challenges.”