Welsh Government spent more than £320 million on agency healthcare staff last year
The Welsh Government spent more than £320 million on NHS agency staff last year, according to the latest figures.
It marks a £70 million increase on the amount spent on such workers in 2021.
Plaid Cymru accused the Labour-run Welsh Government of "failing to get a grip" on the "out of control" spending, adding that it was "preposterous" to see companies “profiteering over Labour mismanagement."
Health Minister Eluned Morgan has previously said it will take time to reduce the amount spent on agency workers given the high number in Welsh hospitals.
Agency staff are healthcare workers who work in Welsh NHS hospitals but are employed by private agencies.
The figures have been released following numerous NHS staff strikes over pay and conditions.
Mr ap Iorweth says use of agency staff cannot be blamed on the pandemic, although it has had an effect
Rhun ap Iorwerth MS, Plaid Cymru spokesperson for health and social care, said the pandemic has had an affect but there was already an issue with "over-dependency" on agency staffing.
He added: “The spend on private agency staff is out of control. Year on year this figure escalates, proving that the Labour Welsh Government has utterly failed to get a grip on this spend, despite repeated assurances that the issued will be addressed.
“We said this in January when we heard that last year’s spend was £260m – now we understand the real figure is over £320m. It is preposterous to think that, at a time when Welsh Government say they have no money to make an improved pay offer to striking workers, that so much money is going to private firms."
Talking about the difficulties retaining staff in the health service, he added: “The situation is especially absurd when staff are leaving NHS employ in droves, for the greater flexibility and control offered by agency work – and often come back to work in the same place they’ve just left, just at a greater cost to the NHS.
“We’ve arrived at this place because of years of Labour mismanagement. They must now take the responsibility and lead the NHS Wales away from this over-reliance on private agencies, be that by creating a public agency, or simply building in the flexibility that NHS staff need into existing contracts. In fact, we need both! Welsh Government must show they are serious about addressing these spiralling costs.”
In response, a Welsh Government spokesperson said: “The increase in the costs of agency staffing in both 2020-21 and 2021-22 reflects the impact of the pandemic."
They added: “The Workforce Strategy, published by Health Education and Improvement Wales and Social Care Wales, sets out a long term vision for the health and social care workforce.
“We are considering how we could develop new ways of flexible working for our NHS staff as we implement the National Workforce Implementation Plan to deal with current pressures. One of the actions that will be taken forward will be the establishment of an All-Wales Collaborative Bank, which will provide additional choice and flexibility for our staff and encourage a move away from agency working.
“There are more staff working in NHS Wales than ever before, and this year we are investing record levels in training and professional education – £281m – including more training places than ever before.”
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