Agency bosses cash in on NHS crisis
The huge cost of employing agency nurses has been repeatedly blamed for sending the NHS into debt.
Private companies are cashing in on the NHS staff crisis and charging sky-high rates to provide the nurses needed to keep the Health Service afloat.
The result is that hospital bosses are squandering vast amounts of public money on temporary staff.
Last year in England alone the NHS spent £1.45 billion on agency staff - more than five per cent of the total Health Service bill for pay. This figure has gone up sharply since Labour came to power in 1997, when the bill for temporary workers was just £480 million.
Many nurses prefer to work for an agency rather than a hospital because they can choose when they work and get paid more money.
Hospitals have been forced to rely on private agencies as the NHS has expanded because they have struggled to recruit and keep enough staff.
Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital in London was one of many hospitals that faced huge debts at the end of the last financial year. With a predicted debt of £1.7 million, doctors were forced to cancel dozens of operations and close operating theatres to try to make ends meet. Dozens of sick children were told their operations were on hold.
One of the main reasons for the spiralling debts was the hospital's bill for agency staff. Staff costs at Great Ormond Street increased by 13 per cent of £12.3 million between 2002/03 and 2003/04 - a large proportion of which was for temporary staff.
To reduce costs, hospital bosses earlier this year banned the use of bank and agency nurses. The plan paid off - the hospital managed to break even by the beginning of April - and restrictions on the use of agency nurses remain.
The Government plans to reduce NHS spending on private agencies by encouraging hospitals to share temporary staff.
Private companies are cashing in on the NHS staff crisis and charging sky-high rates to provide the nurses needed to keep the Health Service afloat.
The result is that hospital bosses are squandering vast amounts of public money on temporary staff.
Last year in England alone the NHS spent £1.45 billion on agency staff - more than five per cent of the total Health Service bill for pay. This figure has gone up sharply since Labour came to power in 1997, when the bill for temporary workers was just £480 million.
Many nurses prefer to work for an agency rather than a hospital because they can choose when they work and get paid more money.
Hospitals have been forced to rely on private agencies as the NHS has expanded because they have struggled to recruit and keep enough staff.
Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital in London was one of many hospitals that faced huge debts at the end of the last financial year. With a predicted debt of £1.7 million, doctors were forced to cancel dozens of operations and close operating theatres to try to make ends meet. Dozens of sick children were told their operations were on hold.
One of the main reasons for the spiralling debts was the hospital's bill for agency staff. Staff costs at Great Ormond Street increased by 13 per cent of £12.3 million between 2002/03 and 2003/04 - a large proportion of which was for temporary staff.
To reduce costs, hospital bosses earlier this year banned the use of bank and agency nurses. The plan paid off - the hospital managed to break even by the beginning of April - and restrictions on the use of agency nurses remain.
The Government plans to reduce NHS spending on private agencies by encouraging hospitals to share temporary staff.
http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=15543941&method=full&siteid=106694&headline=agency-bosses-cash-in-on-crisis-name_page.html
posted by Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic at
11:27 AM
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