Sandwell NHS Trust spends £1.5 million on agency workers in a month
Health chiefs in Sandwell spent more than £1.5 million in a month on agency staff – exceeding national agency caps.
Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust bosses paid out £1,621,000 on temporary workers in June, up £249,000 from the previous month.
The trust needs to 'significantly reduce temporary pay costs' in order to hit its financial targets for this years, bosses have warned.
Chief executive Toby Lewis said reducing the amount the trust spent on temporary staff was 'a key priority'.
He said the trust was tackling agency spending through 'recruitment activities' and banning the most expensive agencies.
Mr Lewis said: “Reducing the amount we spend on temporary staff is a key priority.
"June's reported data includes some older items and was explicitly not part of the trend line.
“We are tackling agency spend, and have seen significant reductions in agency spending – up to 40 per cent in some cases – from a high in December 2016 of £2.4m, £1.9m in March, £1.6m in June to £1.4 million in July, thanks to our recent recruitment activities and banning the use of high cost agencies such as Thornbury."
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 June'.
The overspend on temporary staff was 'driven by [a] strict commitment to maintaining safe staffing', it said,
A statement in the trust board papers says: "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 June.
"Shifts procured outside of this are subject to COO approval and is driven by strict commitment to maintaining safe staffing.
"The trust continues to exceed the national agency rate caps."
