SNP slammed for wasting £100 million on non-clinical agency workers

The Scottish Conservatives have slammed the SNP for spending £100 million on agency workers in just four years to fill non-clinical NHS roles while medical staff are at breaking point.

According to data obtained by the party, £95.8m has been spent on bank and agency staff in areas such as administration, catering, portering and estates since 2022-23. 

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde spent the most of any health board (£29.7m), followed by NHS Lothian (£25.7m).

Scottish Conservative health spokesperson Miles Briggs described these figures as a “shameful reflection” of the SNP’s continued mismanagement of our NHS.

He added that while our NHS was in permanent crisis mode, SNP ministers should be prioritising supporting frontline roles like doctors and nurses to cut the huge backlogs in the health service.

Briggs said the Scottish Conservatives would cut the bloated bureaucracy in our NHS, slash the number of backroom roles and increase resources to the frontline, where they’re needed the most.

Scottish Conservative health spokesperson Miles Briggs MSP said: “At a time when NHS frontline staff are at breaking point, Scots will be furious that health boards are spending millions on bank and agency shifts for non-clinical roles.

“We’ve become used to the SNP’s dependence on temporary doctors and nurses because of their dire workforce planning, but it’s galling that taxpayers are paying over the odds for agency staff to do non-clinical NHS work too.

“Porters and catering staff play an important role but, where possible, they should be employed in-house to keep costs down.

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“Bureaucracy accounts for too much of the NHS budget as it is, so it’s alarming that even more money is being squandered on external admin staff.

“Our NHS is in permanent crisis mode after two decades of Nationalist incompetence. It’s just common sense that SNP ministers should be directing every penny available to cutting wasting lists and getting patients treated faster.

“The Scottish Conservatives would take bold action and cut bloated management, slash the number of backroom roles and surge resources to the NHS frontline.”