Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has ordered a ‘clampdown’ on spending on staffing agencies and management consultancy contracts as part of a package of measures to cut costs.
The new rules will:
- Set a maximum hourly rate for agency doctors and nurses.
- Ban the use of agencies that are not on approved framework.
- Put a cap on total agency staff spending for each NHS Trust in financial difficulty.
- Require approval for any consultancy contracts over £50,000.
The agency staff cap will firstly apply to nursing staff but will be extended to other clinical, medical and management and administrative staff. Capped rates will be reduced from the initial set level over time.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “Expensive staffing agencies are ripping off the NHS. It is outrageous that taxpayers are being taken for a ride by companies charging up to £3,500 a shift for a doctor. The NHS is bigger than all of these companies, so we will use that bargaining power to drive down rates.”
