Liz Smith, Scottish Conservative MSP for Mid Scotland &Fife has expressed concern over the 1000% increase in the number of agency locum doctors employed in NHS Tayside.
A BBC report has found that the NHS in Scotland spent a record £82m on locum doctors last year, an increase of £18m on the previous year
Liz Smith, Scottish Conservative MSP for Mid Scotland &Fife said:
“It is concerning that we have seen a 1080% increase in the number of foreign locum doctors employed in NHS Tayside. This clearly suggests something is radically wrong in the recruitment of doctors in NHS Tayside.
“Scottish NHS Boards are spending significant amounts of public money on temporary locum staff. The cost of using agency locums is generally higher than for internal NHS locum doctors.
“Serious consideration must be given on how to address the recruitment and retention difficulties in Health Boards. We all value our NHS and the increasing levels of care which it is providing to an ageing population. However, Scottish taxpayers also demand we see value for money from their tax pounds.
“It is vital that we are given the full picture of the current shortage in doctors and specialists and that the SNP Scottish Government publish all posts currently not filled in the NHS. The British Medical Association says the staffing problem is much greater than official NHS figures suggest, because they do not include jobs which are waiting to be advertised.
“SNP Ministers are ultimately responsibility for the NHS recruitment crisis and must act to address this growing problem in our health service.”