Sandwell hospital chiefs terminate temps to slow spending
Hospital chiefs in Sandwell and Birmingham have severed ties with a temporary staff provider in a bid to tackle spiralling agency spending.
Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust has stopped employing agency staff from Thornbury Nursing Services.
The move comes as it was revealed the trust's spending on temporary staff rocketed to £1.6 million in July and is £6m in total this financial year.
At a meeting of the trust board on Thursday the parting of ways with Thornbury – which provided staff members when the trust's hospitals were short on numbers – was noted.
Chief nurse Colin Ovington said it is hoped the move and other measures imposed by the trust will help slash its agency bills.
Overtime will be offered to existing staff, while the trust is making a concerted effort to fill staff vacancies.
Mr Ovington said: "Clearly we've been looking at this use of temporary staff for some time.
"We made a decision with some of our neighbouring trusts about Thornbury - one of the most expensive agencies - to stop their use from September 1."
According to documents that accompanied the meeting, 'a heavy reliance on agency workers continues' across the trust.
Agency spending of £1.6m in July and £6m in the year so far is double the amount spent in the same period last year.
In the report this was described as being 'significantly in excess of plan and not consistent with delivery of key financial targets'.
Finance director Tony Waite admitted the trust was 'off plan' with regards to its financial performance for the year.
He said: "The issues that have led to us being off plan remain those that have been previously reported, including pay bill costs being too high due to a significant amount of premium rate agency staff."
In the report, it was noted that the trust's total workforce of 6,864 whole-time equivalent staff members was 236 less than planned – despite it including 264 agency staff.
