JERSEY’s reliance on agency healthcare staff has dropped by more than a fifth in the past year, as focus shifts towards giving current employees priority in filling short-term gaps, according to the health minister.
Between January 2025 to January 2026, there was a drop of 21%, largely accounted for by a significant decrease – from 39 to 15 – in the number of agency nurses working on the Island.
Numbers of agency-based doctors and allied health professionals remain consistent, however.
Deputy Tom Binet shared the statistics in response to a written question from Deputy Max Andrews.
“We are working to reduce our reliance on agency staff, which is currently necessary to cover gaps in our substantive workforce, particularly in roles affected by national labour market shortages,” he commented.
“At the same time, we are strengthening our internal staff bank so that our own employees have the first opportunity to fill short-term vacancies. While some use of agency staffing will always be required to maintain safe service delivery and cover unavoidable short-notice absences, our intention is to minimise this wherever possible.”
