Use of agency staff 'doesn't make financial sense' - Colr. Brian Tierney

More than £280m was spent on agency staff by the Northern Ireland health service during 2020-21, meanwhile NHS nurses still wait for a 'fair pay increase'.
Brian TierneyBrian Tierney
Brian Tierney

Members of Derry and Strabane’s Health and Community Committee repeated calls for NHS staff to be paid more to make working for the health service ‘a more attractive prospect’.

SDLP Councillor Brian Tierney said the use of agency staff didn’t make ‘financial sense’.

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“I've heard of a number of staff who have left the Western Trust to do banking work,” he said. “They are in the same ward doing the same job on the same shifts for more money and that just doesn't make sense.

“How can the Western Trust pay a direct member of staff a particular wage and then pay a banking agency money, that they have to take out their cut, a higher hourly rate than the Trust pays their staff? Surely that doesn't make financial sense?

“Would it not be better looking to ensure staff are feeling valued and are getting the right terms and conditions within their contract.”

Having made a presentation to the committee, Dr Bob Brown, Western Trust Director of Primary Care and Older People’s Services/Executive Director of Nursing responded.

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“I agree it doesn't make sense but at this particular time our priority has been to adequately staff areas that are dependent at times on agency staff such as the emergency department.

“We are working to transition away from that model of higher cost and that would have to be our own Trust bank having an incentivisation which matches what an agency pays and that's something from a workforce planning perspective we are looking at.

“Our first priority has to be patient safety and throughout this winter if we have to pay a higher cost we will have to.”

DUP Alderman Maurice Devenney spoke of the ‘serious difficulty’ on the health service budget, adding: “When you hear of nurses earning around £20 an hour and agency staff can earn around £40 an hour and up to £50 an hour. There has to be an incentivisation for staff to bridge that gap and help maintain staff.”

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Referring to the 3% pay increase the Health Minister Robin Swann is expected to hand NHS staff, People Before Profit Councillor Shaun Harkin said: “The workers in our health service, they already know they are going to be offered a 3% pay increase and the Executive parties have already signed up to that.

“This is going to cause more demoralisation of our health service workforce which is very disappointing.

“If it does come down to a strike, it’s on the Executive for having caused it because already I can see there have been attempts to demonise health service workers for talking about taking strike action.”