Health chiefs in the north have spent more than £10 million on agency staff and locums in just five months, new figures reveal.
The number of temporary staff working in NHS roles has been rising in recent years as the sector continues to face recruitment challenges.
Temporary staff are hired to help keep services running but it’s an expensive and short-term solution.
Locum and agency staff get the shifts they want at what appears to be higher hourly and daily salaries.”
Rhoda Grant, MSP
Chronic staff shortages in the NHS
A new finance report has now revealed one of NHS Highland’s top spends is on locums, bank and agency staff.
And it’s helped push the health board into facing a potential £33m financial black hole at the end of the financial year.
Finance director, Heledd Cooper, highlighted that the cost of paying for locums was one of the main pressures on the health board.
Dr Sandesh Gulhane, a GP and Scottish Conservative health spokesman, fears these costs will run even higher.
“These figures over such a short space of time are absolutely eye-watering,” he said.
“Locum staff are an essential part of our health service but they are increasingly having to be relied on due to the SNP’s failures to address chronic staffing shortages.”
Dr Gulhane said the Scottish Government should come up with a planning strategy and help health boards running services in rural areas.
He added: “NHS Highland is under ever-increasing financial pressure and unless Humza Yousaf urgently overhauls workforce planning, then the millions it is currently shelling out on temporary staff will only increase further.”
What could help recruit new staff?
NHS Highland chief executive Pam Dudek says the cost of agency nurse workers now tops spending on medical locums.
At a recent meeting she said the health board faced a challenging situation with its overspend this year.
A national taskforce has been set up to look at different options to reduce NHS spending on temporary staff.
Scottish Labour MSP for Highlands and Islands, Rhoda Grant, said more work is needed to attract permanent staff.
She said: “Locum and agency staff get the shifts they want at what appear to be higher hourly and daily salaries.
“However, this means that they lose out on pension security, continuity of work and becoming involved as a permanent member of a health team.
“Recruitment and retention is an issue I’ve been raising with the Scottish Government time and time again.
“Infrastructure investment, particularly providing suitable and affordable housing, is critical to attracting new staff.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said many temporary workers are hired from NHS staff banks working under NHS terms and conditions.
Recruitment and retention is an issue I’ve been raising with the Scottish Government time and time again…”
She said: “NHS Highland’s pay bill for 2022/23 is more than £500 million and their spend to date on agency staff only represents 2% of their total budget.
“The use of temporary staff in an organisation as large and complex as NHS Scotland will always be required to ensure vital service provision during times of planned and unplanned absences such as annual, maternity and sick leave.”
NHS Highland spends: What are the other high costs?
The finance report also revealed the health board has spent more than £4m on drugs for patients over the past five months.
And the cost of pharmaceuticals could rise as a result of the pound crashing to a record low against the US dollar.
Heledd Cooper said spending on drugs could be reduced through talks with clinicians to make sure they’re giving the most cost effective care to patients.
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