Number of locum Doctors has doubled since 2009

The amount of hospital doctors choosing to work as locums has almost doubled since 2009. Between 2009 and 2015 the amount of locum doctors in hospitals increased by 96%, from 8,176 in 2009 to 16,002 in 2015. This signifies a 12% average yearly rise. On average, 1304 more doctors each year are electing to work as locums.

Using statistics on locums and National Statistics on medical practitioners, they calculated that locum doctors are making 44% more on average than their salaried colleagues.

The analysis of pay rates found that the annual pay of salaried doctors was £65 843 and the annual pay of medical locums is £95 040.

 

Locum Hospital Doctors In The UK

 

NHS trusts on course to exceed budgets by £850m, figures suggest

NHS hospital trusts are forecasted to exceed their budgets by £850m this year, more than triple the deficit health service bosses said was adequate, research has shown.

The £850m is even larger than the £550m-£580m overspend that some NHS leaders have said is the most the service can overspend by this year without risking major financial issues. However, NHS upgrading, the health service’s financial regulator, has already cautioned that a figure as high as £550m would make management of the general NHS financial position very risky

NHS finance experts claim that the true scale of the NHS’s expected overspend in 2016-17 will be even larger as trusts are receiving £1.8bn in extra funding this year from a sustainability and transformation fund (STF) to help cover large overspends incurred last year. If that turns out to be the case, the real deficit run up by trusts could be up to £2.65bn. A record £2.45bn overspend was posted last year.

However, Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers, who is speaking on behalf of the trusts, said: “There is a well-established strategy to eliminate the provider sector deficit. Because of a huge effort across all trusts, that strategy is mainly being delivered and is broadly on track.

Grantham A&E overnight closure ‘very disappointing’

The ongoing overnight closure of Grantham hospital’s A&E unit until February is “very disappointing”, according to a union.

The A&E department has been temporarily shut between 18:30 and 09:00 since August due to a lack of staff.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (ULHT) said nine additional doctors had been recruited but haven’t started to work yet.

Unison said it was “seeking urgent meetings with the trust” for a fast resolution to the “huge staffing gap”.

Dave Godson, from Unison, said: “It’s very disappointing that the trust has not managed to recruit sufficient medical staff to allow the A&E department to reopen.”

With winter, fast approaching, access to A&E facilities for local people across Grantham, Boston is very important.

On Tuesday, ULHT announced the unit would stay closed overnight but said it had recruited locum agency staff and permanent staff” at Grantham as well as two other locum staff at Lincoln A&E. However, none had started work “due to the recruitment process time.

Supporters say closing the hospitals is putting patient’s safety in danger, however the trust denies this.

ULHT says it doesn’t have enough doctors to staff the department safely as well as maintain services in Lincoln and Boston, which take care of more patients.