More than £233m spent on agency staff at NHS Trusts in the East of England since 2020
Over the last three years hospitals across England have spent more than £3 billion on agency nurses
Last updated 8th Dec 2023
Hospitals across the East of England have spent more than £232m 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. The spend in the East has increased every year, going from about £60m in 2020 to almost £93m last year.
The figures include spending at hospital trusts in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.
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."