Health chiefs: ‘We’re trying to reduce agency staff costs’
HOSPITAL chiefs say they need to use agencies because of a shortage of doctors and nurses in permanent posts but say they are working hard to reduce the amount spent.
Hugh Mullen, director of operations at the Pennine Acute Hospitals Trust, said: “We are the largest NHS trust in Greater Manchester, running four local hospitals, and we employ around 9,000 staff serving a population of 820,000.
He said: “We want to reduce reliance on agency staff in the longer term and in efforts to strengthen our workforce we have recently started campaigns to recruit more permanent nursing staff and doctors to join our trust, including staff working in A&E.”
Pennine says it has recruited 38 A&E nurses in the last few weeks, plus 37 new consultants, registrars and speciality doctors since January 1.
A spokeswoman for the Royal Bolton said: “National shortages of staff in some specialities, plus an increasing number of patients needing care, particularly the elderly, has meant that at times we have to use agency staff in order to keep our services safe.”
Pauline Jones, director of nursing at Wrighington, Wigan and Leigh Trust, said the trust had undertaken a number of recruitment drives and it now had a full establishment of nurses, which will reduce spending on temporary staff in future.
Judith Morris, director of nursing at Stepping Hill said: “We need to ensure safe staffing levels in our services, and meeting this priority can sometimes involve using agency staff. Along with many other NHS Trusts we have faced rising agency costs in the past year, with the unprecedented demands on our service in the winter having had a particular impact.”
A spokesman for Tameside Hospital said: “We have increased the numbers of healthcare professionals at the hospital and to do this quickly and safely means using agency staff.
“The amount we invest in agency staff fluctuates. However, it is largely in line with other hospitals in Greater Manchester.”
A spokeswoman for Adecco Group UK and Ireland, which is one of the main suppliers of hospitals in the region, said: “We place qualified and talented non-clinical staff who often help hospitals cope with peaks in demand, allowing people to gain access to important and first-class health services.”