Savings benefits of NHS staffing agency crackdown revealed

The government has highlighted the savings being made by the NHS as a result of the recent crackdown on its use of management consultants and agency staff.

Figures released by the health regulator NHS Improvement indicate that the amount hospitals spend on management consultants has fallen sharply since the clampdown in June, falling from 145 million pounds in July to September 2014 to 103 million pounds in the same period in 2015.

NHS Improvement believes these measures will save up to 160 million pounds by the end of the year, while removing one billion pounds from the agency staffing bill by 2018.

Hospitals spent 3.3 billion pounds on agency staff last year, following a move to increase staffing levels on wards following the recent Mid-Staffordshire scandal. However, this has created concerns that many agencies have been profiteering from this demand.

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "Our plans to clamp down on management consultants and rip-off staffing agencies are bearing fruit. Patients will see the reward with savings being reinvested in frontline patient care."