NHS: The cost of agency staffing

[Cleoriff]

I  knew this would make headlines one day....It is absolutely scandalous in my opinion.

" 5.5 Billion to ease staffing crisis in the NHS"

It is quite well known that hospitals make up their nursing shortfall by employing agency nursing staff.

In the UK we have a deficit of 20.000 nurses in the NHS. I know, from my experience that the first budget to be cut is the biggest one...and that's the nursing staff budget.

If you consider a newly qualified Staff nurse earns roughly £21,000 p.a.it proves that the Hospital Trusts are employing very short sighted tactics

Their rationale has always been, It is cheaper to employ agency nurses because they dont have to pay sick pay, maternity leave, pensions etc etc etc...

Then, when we have a staffing crisis, (usually in the winter months) we end up with more agency nurses required to staff our wards...More worrying there are often agency nurses running wards!

One example in the audit showed a hospital paying an agency nurse £160 an hour to work a 10 hr shift in Accident and Emergency on a bank holiday

NB:The report actually covers all grades of staff as well as nurses.(though the budget for agency nurses is the highest)

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nhs-blows-55billion-private-agency-4551944 

[Anonymous]

I recall reading sommewhere that the Uk spends a lot of time , effort and money into training our Nurses and Doctors, and then other countries or the Private Sector head hunt them !

Thank you for sharing.

[Anonymous]

My department on its own, which is a non-clinical department, spend just shy of £1million a year on agency staff...and thats for only 7 members of staff. 1 of those agency staff (£450 a day!!) earns more than our Chief Exec, and 2 others earn just short of what the Chief Exec makes. 

Freedom of Information is a wonderful thing...its just knowing what to do then do with that information that is the hard part!

[MI5]

I can never understand how any business can afford to pay the agency staff prices.....

[jonsie]

It beggars belief that is accepted practice to employ less nursing staff but pay agency fees. There is no real logic to it but I can't see any elected government willing to do what's necessary  and make basic and fundemental changes to the system.

[Cleoriff]

With the NHS, this is the main reason for their massive overspend, year after year.

Its a Catch 22. Overspend...Cut budgets....then suddenly a need for more staff....Agency is the short term fix.

Problems is (and I can only speak for nursing) Agency nurses need a lot of time spent introducing them to the routine of the ward and patients....and an induction overall, about where to find stuff...what the fire drill is , the numbers to ring for a CPR incident etc etc etc....

If you imagine that has to be done for EVERY new agency nurse who rocks up to the ward to work...you can see how time consuming it all is....and how, as a result, patient care could suffer....

[Cleoriff]

I am the first to admit the NHS needed a financial overhaul...we were leeching money and had no idea of how to curb our buying. If we wanted it ...we had it...This was due to grass roots staff having no knowledge of budgets and the like...We thought the money pot was endless...

However, to then employ accountants, who have no concept of patient care and what that entails was a massive mistake.

You can NOT be cold-heartedly clinical when patients lives are at risk.

Additionally, to cut those services such as Pain Relief Clinics...because they are initally costly and bring in no revenue is outrageous.

Accountants have no conception of the long term implications of such cuts.

Blimey...I will get down from my soap box immediately......:smileysad:

[jonsie]

That's a great insight into the problem and brilliant and concise pointsthat you make. We all know there is a problem but I now have a far better understanding of the issues.