NHS Dumfries and Galloway agency nurse spending rises sharply

Image source, Paul McMullin

Image caption, Staff vacancies at Dumfries Infirmary's emergency care centre were said to have contributed to the cost increase

A Scots health board has revealed its spending on agency nurses is already almost double the amount spent during the last financial year.

NHS Dumfries and Galloway spent just under 拢550,000 in the first seven months of 2018/19.

A report said that was an "increasing pressure" as spending for the previous 12 months totalled 拢278,000.

However, the health board said it it still expected to deliver a balanced budget by the end of this year.

The situation with agency nursing costs is said to be the result of staff vacancies in the acute hospital service - particularly the emergency care centre at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary.

Break-even budget

It has seen costs rise steeply compared with the previous financial year.

The report added that spending had reduced slightly in the past month following the introduction of new nurse recruits who started in September.

It also showed that the wider NHS budget was currently forecasting an overspend of just over 拢2m.

The health authority said it still expected to deliver a break-even budget by drawing on one-off savings and contingency reserves.

At the same time, the board said it had an underlying savings deficit of 拢13m which would be carried forward.