NHS spends too much on locums

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Scottish hospitals could save £6m a year by using fewer agency doctors, according to a report.

Audit Scotland said using locums, who can cost up to £104 an hour compared with £11 an hour for internal staff, could also compromise patient safety.

The report came after it emerged the number of temporary doctors had soared in the past decade from 3,700 to 8,200.

Health boards currently spend about £47m a year on recruiting medics for temporary staffing cover.

Much of the bill was for commission paid to private agencies, which charge an average of 23 per cent and sometimes more than 30 per cent.

In many cases, Audit Scotland found health boards were unclear about why they were hiring locum doctors and how long they were in post.

They said the NHS in Scotland could save almost 15 per cent of the money it spent on temporary doctors through better planning.

Robert Black, Auditor General for Scotland, said: "With better information, boards could improve their workforce planning and use locum doctors more cost-effectively."

His report also said that the NHS had to get better at managing the potential risks to patient safety of using locum doctors.

This was particularly important for doctors hired through private agencies as they could be unknown to the board and unfamiliar with the hospital in which they were working.

He highlighted that there were no formal systems for sharing information about individual locum doctors between boards and no arrangements to ensure doctors were given an annual appraisal.

The Scottish Health Secretary, Nicola Sturgeon, admitted that spending on locum doctors had doubled in real terms from 1997.

She said: "I agree with the auditor general that we must look to make efficiency savings, but as the report makes clear the reduction in expenditure should go hand in hand with improved standards for patients.

"NHS National Procurement has a new contract for procuring agency medical staff to make the process easier and more cost-effective.

"We have also reminded NHS chief executives of the importance of following the existing code of practice on the employment of temporary medical staff in order to ensure patient safety and achieve best value for money."