Mid Staffordshire NHS spent £4,218,753 on agency staff in one year, with costs for shifts greatly above regular pay, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.
The yearly cost rose by almost £1m in one year.
Staffordshire Newsletter report:
CASH-STRAPPED Stafford Hospital forked out almost £1,800 to a nursing agency for a specialist to cover a holiday shift at the beleaguered A&E department, it was revealed this week.
The payment, which marks a trend in NHS organisations to rely on agency workers to plug gaps in staffing, represents a significant increase over what a staff member in the same role would be paid.
The same month, the Trust paid £1.475.38 for a 13.5 hour shift to a general agency nurse, also over a bank holiday.