The trust that runs Nottingham's hospitals forked out £90 million on shift cover in one year. Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH), which operates Queen's Medical Centre and City Hospital, spent £45 million each on agency staff and bank staff across 2021/22, according to an investigation by the Sunday Times.
An NHS staff bank is managed by a trust or through a third party which contracts with healthcare professionals to take on shifts at trust hospitals. Agency staff are recruited from outside companies.
As reported by the Sunday Times, NUH ranks fifth among NHS trusts across the UK in terms of total spend and spent an eye-watering £2,053 on a single shift. NUH, which employs 18,000 workers, said it only used agency staff once all options were exhausted to ensure safe staffing levels.
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“Patient safety is always our top priority and when staff are absent from work we do everything we can to ensure these shifts are filled, including the use of our in-house bank for staff who want to work extra shifts," said Chief nurse Michelle Rhodes.
“Once all options have been exhausted, we use agencies to ensure we have safe staffing levels for our patients.”
Lilian Greenwood, MP for Nottingham South, said the figures showed the "chronic staff shortages" the NHS is experiencing.
She said: "The government’s failure to recruit and train enough healthcare workers, and to provide them with the pay and conditions that would enable them to stay, has left hospitals reliant on agencies that charge astronomical fees.
“This situation is bad for patients, for staff and for taxpayers. The government must urgently offer decent pay to NHS staff, and recruit and train the next generation of healthcare workers to tackle shortages in the long-term.”
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