Sandwell's NHS Trust spends £1.3 million on agency staff in a month
Health chiefs in Sandwell paid almost £1.4 million in a month on agency staff – and have warned a 'significant reduction in temporary pay costs' is needed to keep finances on track.
The Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust splashed out £1,372,000 in May.
A report to the Trust board says it 'continues to exceed national agency rate caps' and 'did not comply with national agency framework guidance for agency suppliers in May'.
Bosses said the overspend on part-time workers was 'driven by [a] strict commitment to maintaining safe staffing'.
Sandwell councillor Bob Lloyd, who sits on the health scrutiny board, said the level of spending was 'a concern' – but the Trust's struggles mirrored national problems.
The Trust chief executive Toby Lewis said reducing temporary staff spending was 'one of our key priorities' and high-cost agencies are no longer used.
Councillor Lloyd told the Express & Star: "This is a never-ending thing – it's a catch-22.
"To keep the quality up and make sure they have enough staff they need to bring in agencies if there isn't enough staff.
"I can empathise with them because it is difficult and you need to have enough staff, but if you've got more people leaving than coming in then you will have shortages.
"Until the NHS as a whole makes a change then the Trust will always continue to struggle.
"It is a concern but you can understand how they find themselves in this situation."
Mr Lewis said: “We continue to reduce the amount we spend on temporary staff and this remains one of our key priorities.
“We have successfully cut out the use of high-cost agencies, which has contributed to a 30 per cent reduction in agency spend since February.
"Our recruitment activity has also added to this reduction, with 157 out of 230 vacancies filled.
"We will continue to build on this with further recruitment events planned, including an open day on July 13 at City Hospital, where successful candidates will be given conditional job offers on the day.”
The Trust report states: "Total pay costs (including agency workers) were £26.4m in May being £0.4m over plan.
"Significant reduction in temporary pay costs required to be consistent with FY 2017/18 plan assumptions...
"The Trust did not comply with national agency framework guidance for agency suppliers in May.
"Shifts procured outside of this are subject to [chief operating officer] approval and is driven by strict commitment to maintaining safe staffing.
"The Trust continues to exceed the national agency rate caps.
"Trust implementation and compliance is subject to granular assurance that there is no compromise to securing safe staffing levels."
