HEALTH and Community Services is forecast to spend over £25 million on agency staff this year, it has emerged.
But the department has said that recruitment of healthcare staff is a “global issue” and that there is “always a legitimate need” for a temporary workforce.
The figure comes as Dr David Ng – who spent 20 years serving Jersey as a consultant gastroenterologist – warned that the service was “going down the path of the faltering and failing NHS”.
In May, Health Minister Karen Wilson told the States Assembly that her department was facing an overspend of up to £20 million this year amid “immense strain” on its budget, mainly due to the cost of locums and agency staff.
Following questions from the JEP, the government has revealed that the total agency staffing expenditure in HCS for 2023 is forecast to be £25.9 million, a significant increase on the year before.
The equivalent figure for 2022 was £18.7 million, including £3.6 million identified as part of the Covid-19 response.
In a statement, the Health Department said: “Recruitment of healthcare staff is a global issue. Healthcare services in Jersey have had to grow and develop to keep up with demand and to meet Government Plan priorities. This in turn has increased our need for doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and specialist staff.
“There is always a legitimate need for temporary workforce; for example to cover sick leave, because services have to be maintained. If this is not done, quality of care would be affected.”
The statement continued: “A key focus of the Health and Community Services Financial Recovery Plan is to ensure we reduce the amount of money spent on agency staff and vacancies, through the recruitment of permanent staff. Updates will be regularly provided at the Advisory Board meetings on the progress of the delivery of the FRP and with regards to recruitment.”
Dr Ng said: “Recruitment of healthcare workers is not an issue for Jersey, but retention is. Disgruntled NHS workers see our jobs and recognise that we are not the NHS and take a second look. Whereas in the recent past the pay differential offset the cost of living here, this has been eroded over the past 19 years, following the NHS’s ‘Agenda for change’ in 2004. The terms and conditions here are not good enough to keep good people here. They frequently say how much they love the Island but leave because it is unaffordable.”
Dr Ng also said that his friends and colleagues at the Hospital were “firefighting against the pressure of waiting lists”.
In another statement, HCS said: “There are many plans being worked on regarding reducing waiting lists across various departments in Health and Community Services, and this is already being addressed during the Advisory Board meetings. These take place once a month where updates are shared. The public are welcomed to those meetings and details are on our website, along with a video of the session. The next Advisory Board meeting is 6 December.”
