NHS managers, doctors and nurses on temporary contracts will have their pay capped, the health secretary recently announced.
There have long been calls to limit the amount earned by agency employees, who regularly take home three times the wage paid to permanent staff.
Locum doctors and nurses cost the NHS £3.3bn in 2014, contributing to an enormous deficit which is expected to hit £2bn this year.
“Extortionate hourly rates”
But as from next month, locum staff will only be entitled to twice the permanent pay rate. This entitlement will fall further over the winter months, representing a phased approach.
Hospitals will also be limited on how much they are allowed to spend on agency staff. It is hoped these measures will save £1bn over the next three years.
Health secretary Jeremy Hunt, said: “For too long staffing agencies have been able to rip off the NHS by charging extortionate hourly rates.”
“The tough new controls on spending…will help the NHS improve continuity of care for patients and invest in the front line, while putting an end to the days of unscrupulous companies charging up to £3,500 a shift for a doctor.”
Cap extended to hospital bosses
The cap was originally aimed at clinical staff, but will now include managers after it was revealed that one failing hospital was paying nearly £1m a year for an interim finance director.
Medway Foundation Trust, which is in special measures, overspent by more than £30m last year.
Facing a financial crisis, the trust in Kent called in the help of Tim Bolot, of Bolt Partners, to balance the books.
His fees have been described as “mind-blowing” by critics, who say the money could be better spent on front-line staff.
Roger Goss, from Patient Concern, said: “To chuck this kind of money around is an insult to patients. I don’t think you can justify it…It’s corrosive, bad for morale among staff and terrifying for patients.”
“A huge amount of resentment”
A senior doctor at Meday said Mr Bolot’s rate of pay was causing “a huge amount of resentment”.
Mr Bolot has previously worked with other failing hospitals and was paid £92,000 a month by Rotherham Hospital. His fierce approach to cost-cutting earned him the nickname ‘the grim reaper’.
Following on from these revelations, health chiefs have said that from April 2016, temporary bosses cannot be paid more than 55% above that of a permanent employee.
Contracts worth more than £50,000 will also need approval from the regulators.
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