More than £582 million spent on agency staff in NHS Trusts in the South East over last few years
Over the last three years hospitals across England have spent more than £3 billion on agency nurses
Last updated 7th Dec 2023
Hospitals in England have spent more than £3 billion on agency nurses in the last few years, according to new data.
The Royal College of Nursing gathered figures under the Freedom of Information Act from 182 NHS trusts on spending on agency nurses, plus nursing staff such as assistants and support workers.
The union said every region has spent millions of pounds, which it suggested could have paid the salaries of almost 31,000 full-time nurses, or trained more than 86,000 new ones.
In total, NHS trusts spent £3.2 billion between 2020 and 2022, with the London region spending the most at almost £630.5 million, followed by the South East at £582 million.
Hospitals use these doctors and nurses as temporary agency staff to fill gaps in rotas and in England, trust leader are allowed to pay a maximum of 155% of normal staff hourly rates for agency staff.
They can only pay above this limit "on exceptional patient safety grounds."
Official NHS flexible staff banks also exist which place health workers with employers who need to fill temporary gaps.
NHS England data shows that one in 10 registered nursing posts were vacant at the end of September, which is 42,306 vacancies.
Debbie Schilder from the RCN in our region told us: "There are over 40,000 nurse vacancies in England, and this isn't new, we have been talking about this since the beginning of our strike action,"
"Three quarters of those vacancies could have been filled if the money has been redirected to hiring permanent staff, what we found is really disappointing
" Nationally, the money spent on agencies each year could've paid the salaries of over 31,000 permanent full-time equivalent nurses for a year, paid at the top of a band 5 salary which is £34,581.00.
"Agency staff often struggle to get proper inductions when they come in to cover, and this is yet another consequence of lack of staff that adds to the challenges of being an agency nurse."
In a statement, a Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: These statistics cover the Covid pandemic when the NHS was under huge additional pressure and staff sickness rates were exceptionally high."
"While temporary staffing allows the NHS to meet fluctuations in demand, we are controlling spending by capping hourly pay and prioritising NHS staff when shifts need filling."
"We have recruited more than 50,000 extra nurses compared to 2019 - hitting our target early - and the long-term workforce plan is ensuring the NHS has the staff it needs over the next 15 years so that patients continue to receive the best possible care."