The NHS has paid agencies more than £2,000 for a single midwifery shift amid widespread staffing shortages.
Data released to the Labour Party under freedom of information laws revealed that NHS trusts in England spent more than £112 million on agency and bank midwives this year, 22 per cent more than in 2021-22.
Spending on agencies and bank midwives has increased each year since 2018, the figures suggest, despite a government pledge to reduce the practice.
The NHS long-term workforce plan, released this summer, said that the health service had relied “too much” on temporary staffing to fill service gaps. It said this was expensive, poor value for money and had a negative impact on patients, staff and continuity of care.
The most expensive midwife shift uncovered by Labour was at Wye Valley NHS Trust, which paid £2,024.
A spokeswoman for the trust said: “This was a last-minute requirement to cover a critical senior midwifery role at short notice on a bank holiday weekend. We keep the use of agency staff in midwifery to a minimum.”
The Royal College of Midwives says there is a shortfall of more than 2,500 midwives in England.
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Date: 4 September