A report by the Finance Director at Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board has revealed an alarming spike in spending on agency staff at the troubled health board.
The revelations come just weeks after a whistleblowing nurse in Wrexham claimed that an over-reliance on agency staff was putting extra stress on full-time staff.
Welsh Conservative Shadow Health Minister, Darren Millar, said:
“These are eye-watering sums of money which would be better spent on patient care.
“Agency staff are much more expensive than permanent employees and Betsi must justify why it is continually forking out in this way instead of recruiting the staff that our hospitals need.
“The Health Board in North Wales is set to overspend by tens of millions this year and rising agency costs are one of the things that the new Chief Executive must get to grips with to restore public confidence in the region.
“The Welsh Labour Government placed the Health Board in special measures last year but they clearly aren’t working. Staff shortages around Wales are a direct consequence of successive Welsh Labour Health Ministers failing to plan properly for the workforce needs of our NHS; they are clearly not up to the job.”