Trust to discuss rise in use of agency doctors
Consultants are retiring from a regional mental health trust, leading to a rise in agency doctors in Shropshire psychiatric services, a report says.
“Locum” doctors cost more per-hour than full-time staff medics, but Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT) board members will hear that a “very competitive market” is making it “challenging” to negotiate favourable rates.
The report authors say Shropshire Community Psychiatry managers are trying to reduce their reliance on agencies, and one consultant position in Shrewsbury is currently being advertised and two more, in Telford, are expected to follow.
“There are also plans to convert one of the locums to substantive, which would produce a cost saving,” they add.
MPFT employs 8,600 staff, primarily in Shropshire, Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent and Telford and Wrekin, but with other services located elsewhere in England.
The “Trust Assurance Report” says that within the “medical and dental” staff group last month, there were 163 cases where price cap rules – applied when using agency staff – had been overridden.
“For medical and dental, as of the week commencing October 12, 2020, there are 13 locum doctors placed across the trust, 10 of which are priced over cap and are mostly based in the Shropshire Community Psychiatry teams,” the report authors write.
Trend
“The upward trend in locum use in this area is predominantly due to the number of consultants retiring from post.
“The Shropshire Community Psychiatry Services Management Team is working on recruitment to try to reduce the reliance on agency.”
An advert for a consultant position at Severn Fields Health Village, Shrewsbury, is currently in the public domain with a closing date of Friday, October 30. Two further Telford-based vacancies are awaiting approval to be advertised.
“Medical staffing continue to negotiate charge rates with the agencies to get these reduced but the market is very competitive and this task is challenging”, the report adds.
But the authors also point out that two “high cost” locum uses in Shropshire Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services are “time-limited”, as one is providing maternity leave cover and the other holding a position earmarked for a foreign national during the visa application process.
MPFT’s board will discuss the Trust Assurance Report, by E-Rostering and Safer Staffing Lead Suzanne Godwin, Deputy Workforce Development and Learning Head Craig Luby and Head of Resourcing Alyson Sargeant, when it meets remotely on Thursday.
