NHS chief condemns agency staff spending with figure due to hit £4bn

By The Press Association19th January 2016News EnglandNews England, NHS, Recruitment / Retention, Workforce

The head of NHS England has admitted spending on agency staff is set to hit £4 billion this year as he condemned firms who are “ripping off” the taxpayer.

Simon Stevens said the soaring bill for temporary workers explained “the vast majority if not all” of the record £2 billion-plus deficit forecast to be run up by trusts.

The comments came as Mr Stevens gave evidence to MPs following a damning report by the public spending watchdog.

The National Audit Office (NAO) warned that the financial positions of NHS trusts and foundation trusts had significantly deteriorated since 2014-15, when their deficits stood at £843 million, and the figure could reach £2.2 billion this year.

Department of Health permanent secretary Dame Una O’Brien told the cross-party Public Accounts Committee (PAC) she hoped the deficit for healthcare providers would be kept to £1.8 billion this year.

“We are working to bring it down and keep it within the £1.8 billion,” she said.

Mr Stevens told MPs the cost of agency staff had risen from £2.6 billion in 2013-14, reiterating his view that the health service was being “ripped off”.

The Government is introducing caps on hourly rates in a bid to curb the use of outside workers by trusts.

“The idea that we would be at the £3.5 billion-£4 billion number on temporary staffing spend, that alone explains the vast majority if not all of the increase (in the deficit for health providers) in this year,” Mr Stevens said.

“It is the largest driver. The increase in temporary staff pretty much matches the increase in deficits in providers.”

While arguing that agency firms were taking advantage of the health service by charging high rates, he added: “The NHS is not blameless on this. We have got to get a collective grip.”

Mr Stevens said he hoped the injection of Government funding to bring in NHS efficiency reforms – £1.8 billion in real terms this financial year and £3.8 billion in 2016-17 – would make a major difference.

The health service will be unveiling a “big package” of measures to boost recruitment of doctors next month, he added.