PRESS RELEASE : Secretary of State pledges to contain NHS agency spend [November 2024]

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 11 November 2024.

Wes Streeting will set out plans to clamp down on temporary workers in speech at NHS Providers conference.

• Trusts could be banned from using agencies to cover gaps in entry level positions, and agencies could be banned from re-introducing NHS workers that leave permanent jobs
• Understaffed NHS forced to spend £3 billion on agency staff last year
• Wes Streeting to address healthcare leaders in Liverpool and unveil package of radical reforms to ensure every penny for NHS is well spent

The government and NHS England are set to reveal bold plans to reduce the NHS’ reliance on agency staff, as the cost to the health service of hiring temporary workers sits at a staggering £3 billion a year.

Under joint plans to be put forward for consultation, NHS trusts could be banned from using agencies to hire temporary entry level workers in band 2 and 3, such as healthcare assistants and domestic support workers.

The consultation will also include a proposal to stop NHS staff resigning and then immediately offering their services back to the health service through a recruitment agency.

The proposed measures could save the NHS significant sums, improve quality of care and enhance patient safety, as reducing reliance on agency staff has been shown to decrease clinical incidents.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said:

For too long desperate hospitals have been forced to pay eye-watering sums of money on temporary staff, costing the taxpayer billions, and pulling experienced staff out of the NHS. We’re not going to let the NHS get ripped off anymore.

Last month the Chancellor made a historic investment in our health service which must reform or die. I am determined to make sure the money is well spent and delivers for patients.

These changes could help keep staff in the NHS and make significant savings to reinvest in the frontline.

Recruitment agencies have charged NHS trusts up to £2,000 for a single nursing shift, thanks to the 113,000 staffing vacancies across the service.

Costs of this kind were driven up further thanks to periods of strike action. The move, announced this week, will form part of government efforts to reform and improve efficiency in the NHS – with more action planned in the future to cut reliance on short-term agency staffing.

The proposals will also provide greater fairness in the workplace by ensuring staff carrying out the same roles are not paid significantly different sums.

Julian Kelly, NHS Chief Financial Officer, said:

The NHS is committed to ensuring every penny of taxpayer money is used wisely to the benefit of patients and to ensure fairness for our permanent staff. While agency spend is at a record low, with trusts on track to save £1 billion over two years, we want to go further still.

That’s why the NHS, working alongside the government and providers, will launch a consultation with a view to stop using agencies to fill entry level posts, building on the approach we have successfully imposed for administrative and estates staff.

The Health and Social Care Secretary will unveil a package of tough reforms this week to cut wasteful spending in the NHS and ensure the health service delivers greater value for money. This follows the Chancellor’s investment in last month’s Budget to mend crumbling wards and bring healthcare tech into the 21st century.

Kicking off the biggest ever conversation on the future of the NHS last month, Mr Streeting announced how reforms in the 10-Year Health Plan will shift healthcare from hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention.

Addressing the nation’s health leaders at the NHS Providers Conference in Liverpool on Wednesday, he is expected to announce a series of rigorous measures to make sure the investment announced in the Budget delivers shorter waiting times for patients.

A consultation will be launched by NHS England in the coming weeks, seeking views on the new proposals from staff, unions, and NHS provider organisations.