Luton and Dunstable leads the way in agency staff cuts

A hospital in Luton is the only hospital in the country to meet its A&E targets this year without needing any extra cash.

Hospitals across country are being urged to follow the example of the Luton and Dunstable.

It comes after the Government announced a crackdown on money spent on agency staff.

Hiring of agency staff cost NHS foundation trusts nearly £2 billion last year. More than double what they had planned to spend.

Patricia Reid, Chief Nurse at the Luton and Dunstable Hospital, said: "It doesn't matter how good an agency staff is - and some of them are absolutely brilliant.

"The fact is the way they work they are in different hospitals some days on different clinical wards and that impacts on the continuity of patient care and undoubtedly impacts on long term quality.

"What that means is the permanent nurse on duty has to pick up some of that workload. And it's wrong when an agency nurse gets paid twice as much and one of our own nurses ends up doing double the work."

The Luton and Dunstable has cut down the number of agency staff it uses and the amount it will pay them.

The Government says it will cap the amount that agency staff can be paid.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "There will always be a need for agency staff.

"What's been happening recently is that hiring agency staff has become the norm.

"You've been having some nurses saying, actually I'm going to be a permanent agency staff member because the money's better.

"Actually all the academic evidence is that patient care is better, patient satisfaction is higher, when you have regular full time staff."

Click below for Claire McGlasson's report