Rotherham Hospital has been revealed as spending £15.5m, almost five times the budgeted amount, on agency staff for 2015/16. Monthly costs have remained in seven figures — with bills for £1.3 million in both February and March. The Trust also missed the national NHS target of 95% of A&E patients seen within four hours, with Rotherham attaining only 71%. COO Chris Holt said the “ongoing medical workforce numbers” were the main reasons for the overspend and underperformance, with long-term absences of consultants creating a need for more locums, and difficulty attracting and keeping registered nursing staff cited, despite the Trust employing 100 and retaining 88 nurses from Spain, Romania and Croatia. In addition, it was found that there had not been enough time to train new staff, which meant they could be called in at short notice when needed.
Rotherham Hospital has been revealed as spending £15.5m, almost five times the budgeted amount, on agency staff for 2015/16. The Trust also missed the national NHS target of 95% of A&E patients seen within four hours, with Rotherham attaining only 71%. COO Chris Holt said the “ongoing medical workforce numbers” were the main reasons for the overspend and underperformance, with long-term absences of consultants creating a need for more locums, and difficulty attracting and keeping registered nursing staff cited, despite the Trust employing 100 and retaining 88 nurses from Spain, Romania and Croatia. In addition, it was found that there had not been enough time to train new staff, which meant they could be called in at short notice when needed.