A FAILURE to train enough staff in the NHS is leading to an over-reliance on agency staff, locums and overseas recruitment which is wasteful of money and undermining patient care, a new report published yesterday from the cross-party think tank Civitas warns.
Researcher Edmund Stubbs argues that insufficient investment in training is to blame for shortfalls in permanent staff in areas like A&E and general practice, which are less appealing as a career path to many doctors.
As a result, non-permanent staff like locum doctors and agency nurses are costing the NHS about £2.5 billion a year.
Stubbs writes: ‘It is evident that a lack of staff, or at least of staff willing to enter some specialities, is currently leading to excessive spending on agency staff, locums and overseas recruitment; exhausting financial resources that could be better used in training and employing full time staff.’
He adds: ‘If numbers training for medical careers were to be substantially increased, personnel might be encouraged to embark on careers in specialities such as A&E which are currently experiencing difficulty in recruiting and retaining staff.’
He concludes: ‘A larger dependable permanent staff pool would result in enhanced workforce stability and patient safety.’
Civitas notes that the typical charge for a consultant from an agency is £1,760 a day, equivalent to a pro rata salary of £459,096. Given that the salary of an NHS consultant is between £75,249 and £101,451, four consultants could be employed by the NHS for the price of one agency staff member.
Agency nurses cost in the region of £24 to £29 an hour, equivalent to between £47,000 and £56,000 a year; while the salary for an NHS band 5 nurse is between £21,478 and £27,901.
As well as the costs, there are safety considerations too, for example in emergency medicine where there are major difficulties with recruiting enough contracted staff.
• The new chairman of the first hospital in the NHS to be run by a private company, Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Cambridgeshire, has said he cannot rule out department closures.
The hospital has now returned to NHS management after Circle pulled out of its 10-year contract in January, saying the franchise was ‘no longer viable under current terms’.
New chairman Alan Burns said he would be looking at the ‘viability of services’ at the hospital.