THE permanent workforce at Calderstones Hospital has been reduced significantly over the last five years while spending on expensive agency staff has soared, according to new data.

The Lancashire Telegraph has established that Calderstones Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which provides secure units in Whalley, has shed more than 200 permanent staff since 2010, while annual spending on temporary workers has steadily increased from about £1.3 million to £2 million.

MORE TOP STORIES:

The trust was heavily criticised by inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in December, which said staff were overusing restrictive methods such as face-down restraint and seclusion rooms.

Staff shortages were also raised as a concern by several employees, and Unison union official Tim Ellis said the issues were linked. He said a lack of permanent nurses, and increased reliance on agency staff, often leads to ‘quick fix’ solutions to deal with psychotic and distressed patients, rather than using de-escalation methods to calm them down, according to best practice.

He added: “High levels of agency staff are difficult because they don’t know the clients or the workforce so handovers aren’t as good, and you’re more likely to get patients being restrained or put in seclusion rooms.”

According to data obtained through Freedom of Information laws, the overall workforce at Calderstones, which also has smaller sites in Lancaster and Rochdale, has reduced from about 1,600 full-time equivalents in 2010 to 1,070 in 2014.

However, about 350 staff have transferred to a community interest company called Future Directions, which now delivers community care to many of the trust’s former patients.

Asked whether the reduction in the permanent workforce had caused some of the problems identified by the CQC, A Calderstones spokesman said: “Most of the staffing reductions in recent years are the result of changes to the services we are commissioned to deliver. We currently have fewer service users to support than we did five years ago.

“The CQC did not highlight any general concern about the quality of care with relation to staffing levels in their inspection. As with many NHS trusts, staff often work bank shifts and we also use an agency and try to ensure the same staff for consistency.”

In January, Sir Stephen Bubb, who was asked by NHS England to review services for patients with learning disabilities or autism, told health chiefs to close ‘large institutions’ like Calderstones and move patients into smaller units or community-based care instead.

The national body has accepted his recommendations, without naming individual organisations, and will publish detailed proposals later this year.