NHS Lanarkshire spending millions on agency staff
NHS Lanarkshire have splashed out a an eyewatering £31 million on agency staff over the past three years.
The shocking statistics, obtained by the Wishaw Press, showed that from 2014 to 2016 the health board spent £31.16 million on the temporary cover - the equivalent of 1,074 nurses on the average salary of £29,000.
A NHS Lanarkshire spokesman confirmed to the Wishaw Press that the bombshell figures do not include permanent members of staff who are on the health board’s staff bank, which also cover temporary shortages.
Heather Knox, NHS Lanarkshire director of acute services, said: “We have a duty to provide safe, high-quality and timely care to our patients.
“We only use agency staff when there is an absolute clinical need as it is important these positions are filled to safeguard patient care.
“This is usually a last resort which is considered after all other options - including offering overtime and extra hours to those who work in our staff bank - cannot provide the staffing levels required.
“Agency staff are sought from national contracted agencies to provide support to our staff and can be used to cover sickness absence, and on occasion other types of unplanned absence, to ensure continuity of care and services.”
The Tories’ Central Scotland list MSP Graham Simpson slammed the figures.
He said: “These are shocking figures and the Wishaw Press is to be commended for uncovering them.
“We know that NHS Lanarkshire has a recruiting problem. Surely, the answer is to employ more people on staff and not take the expensive route of using agencies.”
Over the last three years, Wishaw General Hospital spent almost £7 million on agency staff - £3.4 million of which was in the last financial year.
That figure is higher than the £4.94 million spent on staff at Hairmyres but is dwarfed by Monklands’ figure of £10.2 million.
In each of Lanarkshire’s three hospitals the amount of cash spent on agency staff rose each year.
The remainder of the cash was spent on acute services such as radiology, laboratories and cancer services as well as services like mental health and out-of- hours care.
Wishaw’s SNP MSP Clare Adamson defended the figures.
She said: “Recent figures from the Information Services Division show that the number of staff employed by NHS Scotland is at a record high and continues to grow.
“The NHS, however, are required to keep a minimum number of staff on shift to serve patients in a professional and safe manner. Occasionally, this means that they rely upon agency staff.
“Whilst I would like to see more staff employed directly with the NHS in order to reduce costs, I understand that realistically agency work suits some people and there will always be an element of this within the NHS.”
However, Labour MSP Richard Leonard claims the figures show the NHS in Lanarkshire is in crisis.
He said: “Every single day NHS staff tell us that they are under pressure and underresourced and these figures are the result.
“This is the sign of a service in crisis. And it is a crisis getting deeper year on year.
“The dedication and skill of our NHS staff is the reason it is our most valued public service but they are being let down. A decade of SNP mismanagement of our NHS means that patients are being let down too.
“This casualisation of core nursing staff is nothing short of disgraceful.
“We need proper planning, skills training and investment in all grades of NHS frontline staff and a Service which properly appreciates them. Too often they are poorly managed and undervalued.”
Shockingfigures ..the Wishaw Press is to be commended for uncovering them