£230m spent on agency staff for under-pressure health service

The amount paid out annually to locum workers in the health service has doubled from £31.7m in 2011/12 to £62.2m in 2015/16, according to figures obtained by the Ulster Unionist Party.

And UUP health spokesperson, Jo-Anne Dobson MLA has warned that the local health service is “growing increasingly dependent on astronomically expensive locum staff”.

She added: “Whilst I understand some level of agency staff will always be required to fill temporary gaps in the workplace, these figures clearly demonstrate that the spending on agency staff has been spiralling year on year and is now most likely contributing to the local health service’s financial woes.

“The almost 100% increase over the last five years would be alarming in any normal circumstances but it is even more shocking given the absolutely dreadful patient waiting times for which I am repeatedly told a lack of finances is the key contributory factor.

“The irony is that I suspect the increasing reliance on bank doctors is a direct result of so many NHS doctors and nurses leaving the service to go work for health agencies.

“With so many leaving, often attracted by the lure of doing the same work for much better pay, local Trusts are finding themselves caught in the catch-22 situation of having to pay agency staff to cover roles that are only vacant because they themselves left.”

Ms Dobson obtained the figures via a written question to the Health Minister.

The Upper Bann MLA added: “The Minister urgently needs to realise this growing reliance on bank staff is unsustainable and I would urge her to take long-overdue action to ensure there are sufficient NHS staff in our local hospitals.”

DUP health spokesman Jim Shannon MLA told the News Letter he was “not surprised” by the figures adding: “There is no long-term vision for the future of the health service in Northern Ireland, only knee jerk responses.

“It is reactive rather than proactive and we need to look again at how we can provide a health service in Northern Ireland which is financially accountable and doesn’t put us over budget.”

Last month, Prof Rafael Bengoa – a worldwide expert on health reform –presented a report to the NI Executive, outlining an ambitious health care shake-up for Northern Ireland. Reducing the cost of locum and agency staff is one element of the radical 10-year plan.

The Bengoa report stated: “Many permanent staff have highlighted continuity and consistency issues in a service that relies on locum and agency staff.

“The locums are of course not the problem, but their presence on this scale is a symptom of the structural problems facing the service. The answer is not providing more funding to try to fill these vacancies. The answer is changing the model of care to make sure that we create the right kinds of posts for all health professionals .”