Agency worker paid £97 an hour by NHS
AGENCY staff brought in by the NHS in Derbyshire have cost up to £97 an hour.
The figure, which would have been equivalent to an annual salary of £190,000, was revealed in answer to a Freedom of Information request by the Conservatives.
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NHS
Trusts running health services throughout the country revealed the highest amounts they paid for outside staff, including doctors, nurses and managers, between May and October last year.
The trusts did not reveal what percentage the agencies took as a fee.
The £97 was paid for a project manager by Derbyshire Mental Health Services NHS Trust, which also paid £92 an hour for a doctor.
The highest figure paid by Derby's hospitals was £76 an hour for an A&E nurse, equivalent to £149,000 a year.
Both trusts said they only brought in agency staff when forced to and pointed to huge reductions in annual spending in this area in recent years.
Derby Hospitals NHS Trust last year spent £1.79m on agency workers, compared with £3.2m in the financial year 2003-4, and the mental health trust has halved its costs in the past three years.
But Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: "It's incredible that agency staff can be paid such high hourly rates when jobs are being cut at the same time."
So far, in the current financial year since April, Derby's hospitals have spent just over £1.5m on agency staff.
Officials stressed this was less than 1% of the trust's overall staffing budget, which was more than £156m for the same period.
Tony Riley, the hospitals trust's director of human resources, said the organisation expected to further reduce its use of agency staff once the new superhospital replaced the DRI and Derby City General in late spring.
He said: "Derby hospitals use temporary staff when unexpected or unplanned levels of patient activity cannot be met with normal staffing levels or overtime at short notice.
"Our first call for temporary staffing is our own nurse bank, where staff get paid normal rates.
"We have successfully reduced our reliance on agency staff in recent years and are continuing to introduce systems to further reduce our need to use agencies."
Agency staff spending has fallen nationally in recent years following the introduction of not-for-profit group NHS Professionals in 2002.
This was launched to cut the expense of paying fees to private agencies and is a first port of call for hospitals in need of extra staff. Private agencies are used when NHS Professionals can not help.
A spokeswoman for the mental health trust said it had used a specialist agency to employ the £97-an-hour project manager.
She said: "This is because it is more cost-effective to employ a specialist on an hourly rate for a short period than employing someone."
Critics say that, while agency staff are vital, they cannot always provide the same standard of care as permanent staff.
Royal College of Nursing lead steward Michael Hayworth said: "Any over-reliance on agency staff raises questions about whether staffing numbers are sufficient."
Yvonne Cappa, programme leader for a masters degree in advanced nursing practice at the University of Derby, said: "I couldn't say that agency staff are just as able to take on the role as permanent staff."
NHS Derby City said it was not asked to reveal its spending, while the highest hourly spend from Derbyshire County Primary Care Trust was £23.
Mark Blaney, manager of patient group Derby Links, said better pay, along with greater flexibility, made staff keen to work for agencies.
19 Comments
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by RCM, nottingham
Tuesday, January 27 2009, 11:02AM
“I have absolutely zero confidence that ANY budget is managed in the NHS as it would be in the private sector.
My experience of management of anything within the public sector would drive me insane - it's lack of flexibility, strangled by procedures and oh too 'PC' sensitive policies.
The recruitment agency will usually be working at around 25-30% margin on temps to the public sector.”
by Steve, Derbyshire
Thursday, January 22 2009, 10:30AM
“General Public? More like Major Misunderstanding! I am not, as you infer, a political activist. I am standing up for my -much touted- human rights. I want choice, not a bloated white elephant which doesn't meet my needs but is, nevertheless, forced upon me and funded through tax extortion because the lowest denominator (as usual) of society won't let go of Nanny's hand and go it alone. They're happy to let the state provide, regardless of how shoddy it is. How is that fair on those who don't want it? Why shouldn't people have the right to opt out of the national system and enjoy a tax rebate so that they can pay for their own healthcare? Why is everything in this country a 'one-size-fits-all' solution?”
by General Public, Battlefield Derby
Wednesday, January 21 2009, 3:58PM
“These posting sessions would be of more relvance if they weren't taken over by political activists/supporters whose only mission is to support/attack the other comments/angle of story/political party that may be mentioned. The game is up here, the public aren't fooled.”
by Steve, Derbyshire
Wednesday, January 21 2009, 3:54PM
“For once I agree with you Joanne in that there is too much box-ticking. Hitting targets is all well and good but does not imply that there is any substance. Political meddling is most probably the root cause, as you speculated, but I think the whole thing is beyond saving now. It's become too bloated and inefficient. Yes, this is a shock story and it probably isn't the case that this £90 an hour agency staff fee is replicated all of the time in every hospital, but it goes beyond that. I know people in the NHS and they've also worked for/know people who work for agencies and what they get paid (even before you consider the agency cut ON TOP of that). They tell me that agency staff are commonplace and earn more than they do, so it's not the fact that this one person has cost £90-odd, but the fact that we know that there are many others that don't get this amount but still cost x-amount above the odds. This is before we even get to the subject of wasteful management structures. I don't think it's fair to have this imposed on us as taxpayers and have no choice but to accept it. I would gladly opt out and enjoy a fat tax rebate and fund my own healthcare. It would be cheaper and better.”
by KEVIN, derby
Wednesday, January 21 2009, 3:51PM
“please tell me this is a joke, is this department called mental health. it cant be the HR department.”
by Joanne, Derbys
Wednesday, January 21 2009, 3:31PM
“John English- ha ha- great comments!
Steve- I think you are going a little overboard here...
What has employing occasional agency staff got to do with the service you receive as a patient?
I presume many staff have left over the years due to constant political meddling, which in my opinion started in the 1980's, and unfortunately continued into the 90's with this ridiculous box ticking mentality.
Morale amongst NHS staff, who are doing an incredibly difficult job on the whole, has been sinking in my opinion, and it's not surprising there may be a shortage of staff in vital services..
It's amazing how issues like education and health can be hijacked by political parties, and become footballs kicked around to suit their own arguments.
The staff in the NHS, both in hospitals and the community, are doing a fantastic job. and need support, not ridicule.”
by Steve, Derbyshire
Wednesday, January 21 2009, 3:01PM
“The backlash comes from people who are fed up at paying for something through tax extortion (and hidden means) and not getting the service they've paid for - and having no choice or say in the matter. In the current economic climate, it's understandable why people already involved in the NHS want to keep the institution going (hence Joanne's comment below), but people are getting sick and tired of the wasting of money.
£97 an hour for agency staff - disgraceful.
Wasteful layers of management structure - disgraceful.
Primary healthcare staff striking - unforgivable.
What ever happened to choice and people taking responsibility for themselves instead of relying on this bloated, socialist manifestation?”
by John English, Derby
Wednesday, January 21 2009, 2:53PM
“I had to call out a plumber over Christmas. The job took 20minutes and the cost......£145. That's the equivalent of £848,250 per annum ! Who cares what the Conservatives ask via the Freedom of Information Act ? Yawn !”
by Joanne, Derbys
Wednesday, January 21 2009, 2:11PM
“I am very curious how stories like these become a platform for a conservative backlash.
I have worked in the NHS for over 25 years, and certainly do not agree or recognize any reality within the 2 posts below.
I think headlines like these just become sensational, and has little to do with the day to day reality of working in the NHS.”
by Tim, Cambridgeshire
Wednesday, January 21 2009, 2:03PM
“The NHS is wasteful disgrace and to pay the obscene amounts is a smack in the eye for all the hard working people. We have to earn our living. in the private sector with small businesses that the NHS could use but do not choose to as we are TOO SMALL! Give us a chance to run the NHS and you will soon discover how poor the NHS is managed.”