Health chiefs have warned that patients are facing a care crisis because of staff shortages at GP practices and hospitals across the north-east.
NHS Grampian is now considering an “Aberdeen weighting” allowance similar to that paid to key workers in London to try to offset the high cost of living in and around the city and attract workers.
Officials say staff are leaving to work in other areas because of the “vibrant” economy created by the oil industry and are even being lured to other sectors, such as retail, because of the wages on offer.
A number of incentives to recruit and retain NHS Grampian staff, who are locked into nationally-agreed pay scales despite the higher living costs, will be discussed at a board meeting tomorrow.
The lowest paid NHS worker in Grampian, taking home about £950 a month, is an estimated £220 worse off a month than counterparts in Tayside and Highland because of the higher cost of rent, bus travel and council tax in the area.
Staff shortages have been identified in numbers of critical roles, from general practice to nursing, cancer specialists, emergency medicine, midwifery, paediatrics and psychiatry. Health chiefs said it was “imperative” the board addressed the issue, but the cost of incentive payments – which could total more than £21million a year – would be impossible to meet because of budget constraints.
A report to the board says: “NHS Grampian has difficulties in both recruiting and retaining staff due to the vibrant economy in Aberdeen.
“There is a significant risk to NHS Grampian and the services it provides if it is unable to attract, recruit and retain a high calibre and skilled workforce.
“Scotland is rightly proud of the economic powerhouse centred on Aberdeen, but this needs to be supported by a world-class health service – this could be at risk.”
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said that the Scottish Government had to help the health board – which in January accounted for almost a third of all vacancies in NHS Scotland – fill the void.
The RCN’s professional officer, Colin Poolman, said: “We know that recruiting and retaining staff is hugely challenging in and around Aberdeen.
“The solutions, however, are complex and will require national action by the government, for example, if the health board wishes to introduce a recruitment and retention premia for ‘hard to fill’ posts.
“The RCN and other trade unions are shortly meeting the health board and other parties to discuss recruitment and retention in NHS Grampian as we need to address this together to minimise the impact on health services and patient care due to staff shortages.”
Dr Nanette Milne, Scottish Conservative MSP for the north-east and shadow minister for public health, said: “We have called on the Scottish Government to assess the introduction of a high cost area supplement for the north-east to help with the recruitment of key health specialists.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman added: “There are provisions in the NHS Agenda for Change package which allows NHS employers, where they are finding it hard to recruit and retain staff, to apply a recruitment and retention premia of up to 30% of basic salary.
“In order to secure such a premium, a robust case must be made through the agreed channels by the NHS board in partnership with the local staff.”