The Government is to blame for millions of pounds of NHS money being wasted on agency staff. An investigation by Sky News has revealed how much the NHS is relying on agency staff and how a nurse was paid £1800 for working a bank holiday shift. news.sky/story/1310468/nhs-hospital-paid-1800-a-day-for-nurse The National Health Action Party’s Kathryn Anderson, who’s a registered nurse and has also worked as an agency nurse, says it’s clear who’s to blame: “The outrageous amounts paid for agency staff is just a symptom of a situation created by this government through its cuts to NHS staff and funding. ”Jeremy Hunt has decimated nursing numbers, with around 4000 senior nurses axed since the Tories came to power, so hospitals are left with little choice but to hire extra staff to plug the gaps. The RCN estimate we are short of 20,000 nurses so it’s no surprise that agency staff are being used. It’s just shocking that huge amounts of money are being wasted that could be spent on employing nurses and on other front line care. And it’s galling for nurses working in the NHS to see that money being wasted in front of their eyes. ”NICE guidelines now state a nurse must raise a ‘red flag’ alert if staffing numbers are insufficient or inadequate. So how else are hospitals meant to meet the guidelines if not by employing extra nurses? ”From first hand experience I know that hospitals do not use agency staff lightly; senior ward staff need to jump through hoops before an agency nurse is allowed. ”It should also be remembered that the amounts quoted are the amounts the hospital pays the agency, NOT what the nurse receives. ”Staffing on NHS wards has always required flexibility, it’s the nature of how we care for people. Agency nursing staff have, for many years, provided this flexibility. The agencies charge a premium for providing this service, as all private providers to the NHS do. But the shortfall in NHS nurses is creating an increasing need for agency staff and this is an escalating expense that the NHS can do without. ”In addition to reversing funding cuts and properly staffing the NHS with nurses, the government should consider a cap on the hourly amount an NHS hospital will pay an agency for both nursing and medical personnel. There is a precedent for this set in Victoria, Australia in 2002. The NHS should be using its ‘purchasing power’ to negotiate a better deal. “In addition, all hospitals have ‘nurse banks’, a type of internal agency which pays slightly higher rates but without the horrendous agency fee. These should be encouraged so if a hospital does need extra nurses, it doesn’t get ripped off trying to maintain an acceptable level of care. ”
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 17:27:35 +0000
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