Questions in Holyrood over the cost of NHS Highland's use of locums
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NHS Highland’s £20 million spend to cover the costs of staff shortages has been challenged in the Scottish Parliament.
The matter was raised with health secretary Jeane Freeman by MSP Edward Mountain who demanded to know what action was being taken to reduce the board’s reliance on highly expensive locums.
Mr Mountain cited new figures which show the board spent £1.82 million on payroll locums, £8.8 million on agency locums, a further £9.1 million went on bank and relief staff and another £2.5 million on agency staff.
Ms Freeman said: “The number of medical and dental staff in NHS Highland has in fact increased by 55.2 per cent between 2006 and 2019. However, NHS Highland continues to focus on reducing both the cost of locums and their reliance on them.
“Ongoing actions taken by the board include a weekly control meeting, ongoing cost improvement programme, continuing work to recruit the cohort of clinical fellow posts, continuing work to permanently recruit to permanent posts, including offering flexible working and alternative roles to encourage doctors in particular to work in NHS Highland and they have also been engaged with a medical recruitment agency focusing on international recruitment to vacant posts across NHS Highland, in some way emulating the success of NHS Grampian in that regard.”
In December, it was confirmed that construction of the much-anticipated £36 million Elective Care Centre to be based in Inverness would again be delayed.
The health minister also responded to a question from Mr Mountain asking if she was "sure" she will be able to fully staff the centre when it was completed, without increasing costs.
She said: “So in the overall NHS Highland spend it is worth noting that in terms of agency use of nursing and midwifery agency staff, that figure has decreased.
“So while overall Mr Mountain is correct, I do think facts are important.
"In terms of where NHS Highland is concerned, I am sure that he will be pleased to know that in the last quarter the vacancy rate in NHS Highland decreased to 11.7 per cent while the number of longer term vacancies of six months or more also decreased by 7.4 per cent.”
Following their exchange, Mr Mountain said: “With NHS Highland costs for locum, bank, and agency staff running at £20 million per annum, this Scottish Government needs to come up with a plan on how to staff the Elective Care Centre as temporary staffing is clearly not the answer.”
