Northern Ireland

Department of Health considers pay cap for costly locum staff

How the Irish News revealed details of the locum bill
How the Irish News revealed details of the locum bill How the Irish News revealed details of the locum bill

THE Department of Health has revealed it is "considering" the introduction of a pay cap for costly locum doctors - after it emerged that three temporary A&E posts are costing a Co Derry hospital £1 million a year.

The move would follow a similar scheme introduced in English hospitals two years ago.

The department confirmed that it was liaising with officials in England but warned that a limit on agency pay could lead to the closure of some facilities and services.

The Irish News yesterday reported that the bill for temporary A&E consultants at the Causeway hospital in Coleraine has rocketed over the past year, with each of the three positions costing £365,000 - compared with the £120,000 earned by a staff consultant.

A senior health chief at the Northern health trust, which is responsible for Causeway, branded the payments "excessive" and warned of the over-reliance on costly recruitment agencies by the NHS.

Dr Seamus O'Reilly, the trust's medical director, said that despite repeated job advertisements, only one of the four A&E consultants at the Causeway for the past year has been a permanent member of staff and it was employing locums to make the service "safe".

The leading medic also criticised a lack of "workforce planning", which he said had "fallen behind".

"I think if we got our workforce planning right we wouldn't be in this situation."

The Department of Health, which is ultimately responsible for workforce planning across the north's hospitals, confirmed that it may follow the lead of England given the multi-million pound locum bill.

In August, the department ordered health trusts to axe most of its spending on agency doctors and nurses as part of controversial plan to make £70 million in budget cuts.

The proposal was shelved last month following a £40m bailout from reallocated Stormont funds.

The Irish News understands that such is the level of concern about the locum bill, senior finance officials from the north's trusts have been meeting privately to discuss the imposition of a cap.

The move would have to be sanctioned by the permanent secretary at the department, Richard Pengelly, in the absence of a health minister.

In a statement, a department spokeswoman said: "The department is fully aware of the price cap imposed in England, and in considering the issue in relation to NI we have been liaising closely with Department of Health (in England) and the other devolved administrations to monitor the impact following the introduction of the price cap in England.

"If the department were to introduce a cap on locum or agency rates this could in practice lead to closure of facilities and cessation of some services which would ultimately bring into question the overall impact of provision of safe services for patients.

"The department is continuing to closely monitor spend with trusts.

"Medical vacancy rates across Health and Social Care is an issue we intend to deal with as part of a future workforce strategy, in terms of sustainable workforce planning and seeking to ensure that medics want to work in the HSC in the first instance, and not as locums.

"We recognise that increasing agency and locum costs are not sustainable, particularly at a time of serious financial pressures right across the public sector. This is why transformation of health and social care in Northern Ireland is such a priority for the department."