SPENDING on hiring agency nursing staff in Worcestershire has rocketed 150 per cent in just two years, shock figures reveal.

Taxpayers had to fork out £627,955 towards temporary nurses in just one threemonth period between July and September last year, more than twice the £301,628 during the same stretch in 2012.

The figures have been released by the Royal College of Nursing and apply to the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.

The surge at Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, which runs mental health and community care services in the county, was even greater, up from £442,776 in the second quarter of the 2012-13 financial year to £1.29 million this year, an increase of 191 per cent.

Lindsey Webb, chief nursing officer at the acute trust, which runs WorcestershireRoyal Hospital, Kidderminster Hospital and Redditch’s Alexandra Hospital is blaming a steady increase in demand.

“When faced with a choice of relying on agencies or closing beds and cancelling operations we put the interests of our patients first,” she said.

“We are working hard to actively reduce the use of agency staff within our hospitals, recognising that to ensure our patients are provided with the highest quality of care this requires consistency of care delivered by permanent nursing staff who are familiar with our values, policies and procedures.”

Following what has been called “unprecedented” demand on hospital services over the winter the trust recently forecast it would end the financial year £27.6 million in deficit – almost three times its original prediction of £9.8 million.

A spokesman for Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust said: “The rise in agency costs is largely attributable to the national issues around recruiting registered, qualified nurses.

“We do actively recruit and are looking at more creative ways of doing this, including holding recruitment days, but despite the shortage we have a duty to ensure our wards remain safely staffed so we can provide safe and effective services.”

The increase in Worcestershire is on par with the national average.

The report also warned if trends continue a total of £980 million would be spent on agency nursing staff in England by the end of this financial year, an average of £4.2 million per trust.

Chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing Dr Peter Carter said health bodies were taking “payday loan” attitudes to recruitment.