NHS has spent £3billion on agency nurses to plug staff shortages over past three years

Hospitals in England have spent more than £3 billion on nurses in recent years, according to new data.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has collected figures on spending on nurses and nursing staff, such as assistants and support staff, from 182 NHS trusts under the Freedom of Information Act.

The union said each region had spent millions of pounds, which it said could have paid the salaries of almost 31,000 full-time nurses or trained more than 86,000 new ones.

In total, NHS trusts spent £3.2 billion between 2020 and 2022, with the London region spending the most at almost £630.5 million, followed by the South East with £582 million.

Hospitals use doctors and nurses as temporary workers to fill gaps in their schedules.

NHS England data shows that one in 10 registered nursing posts were vacant at the end of September (stock image)

In England, trust leaders can pay a maximum of 155 percent of the normal hourly rate for temporary workers.

Above this limit they can only pay 'for exceptional reasons of patient safety'.

Official NHS flexible staffing banks also exist, placing healthcare workers with employers who need to fill temporary gaps.

Data from NHS England shows that one in ten registered nursing posts were vacant (42,306 vacancies) at the end of September.

RCN chief nurse Professor Nicola Ranger said: 'Ministers have got their priorities wrong: they are forcing trusts to waste billions on agency staff while providing stingy funding for fair wages and nurse training.

'With cuts to nurse education and the maintenance of unfair pay levels, ministers are choosing to spend the money instead on much higher bills from private bodies. This is yet another false economy when it comes to NHS spending.

'This should be a wake-up call. The government must give nurses and patients the investment and respect they deserve.

'If you don't act now, more patients will be put on waiting lists and the nursing staff crisis will worsen even further.'

Shadow Foreign Secretary Karin Smyth said: 'The government's inability to train enough NHS staff has led to rising costs to keep the health service afloat.

'Billions of pounds of taxpayers' money is being spent as a short-term solution to staff shortages, rather than being invested in NHS staff, while patients receive worse care as a result.

'Only Labor has a long-term plan to overhaul healthcare. By allowing the NHS to work on weekends, we will put £1.1 billion directly into the pockets of NHS staff and provide two million extra appointments per year for patients.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: 'These statistics relate to the Covid pandemic when the NHS was under enormous additional pressure and absenteeism rates among staff were exceptionally high.

'While temporary staff enable the NHS to meet fluctuations in demand, we are keeping expenditure under control by capping hourly wages and prioritizing NHS staff when shifts need to be filled.

'We have recruited more than 50,000 extra nurses compared to 2019 – meeting our target early – and the long-term workforce plan will ensure the NHS has the staff it needs over the next fifteen years, so patients can get the continue to receive the best possible care. '