The NHS is "beginning to turn a corner" on the issue of agency staff expenditure, the Health Secretary has insisted, as Labour claimed such spending had " gone through the roof" under his watch. Jeremy Hunt acknowledged there was a "big mountain to move", but argued the monthly spend on agency staff is "now falling". He told MPs during Commons health questions: "We've taken tough measures to control unsustainable spending on agency staff which cost the NHS more than £3 billion last year. "Overall agency spend is now falling and we expect to save the NHS at least a billion this year as a result." His comments came as Shadow health secretary Heidi Alexander said: "Spending on agency staff has gone through the roof under this Health Secretary and his attempt to deal with symptoms of the problem, but not the cause has left hospitals struggling to get staff at rates they are allowed to pay." She added: "The Health Secretary has admitted this will be his last big job in politics so before he goes, can I urge him to get a grip on the cause of the staffing crisis or I can tell him it will be patients who are facing the consequences long after he has gone." Lib Dem MP John Pugh (Southport) said he did not share Mr Hunt's optimism, adding: "Isn't the real problem the shortage of permanent staff and the budgetary constraints on the acute sector." Labour's Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) said the key was that the establishment level for acute hospitals was "always under par" because the budget set from the centre was never enough to meet that. Mr Hunt responded: "Perhaps I can give her some comfort that we are beginning to turn a corner. I recognise that there is a big mountain to move on this, but the changes we made last year were not just about changing the rates paid to agencies, they were also about capping the amounts that agencies can pay their own staff. "Because we think it's incredibly divisive inside hospitals if you can have two nurses doing exactly the same work, but one being paid dramatically more than another and also we are capping the total amount that hospitals can spend on agency staff, and the result of that is that the monthly spend on agency staff is now falling and we are on track to reduce the agency bill by around a billion pounds." Mr Hunt said t wo thirds of trusts were reporting savings and the price paid for agency nurses was 10% lower than it was in October. Successive governments he said had "failed to understand" the needs of nursing in wards, adding: " So the root cause of this problem is... that we have failed in the past to recruit enough staff."
In response to comments from shadow health secretary, Heidi Alexander, Jeremy Hunt has told MPs that measures taken to control unsustainable spending on agency staff are beginning to take effect with overall spend on agency staff now falling. He expects the NHS to save at least £1bn this year, down from the £3bn+ spent in 2015. The government is also planning a review of its plans for social care and says it will publish an interim report by the end of next year.