OVER 3,200 shifts were worked at Royal Blackburn Hospital by "off-framework" agency nurses over the last year, reflecting ' chronic work shortages' across the NHS.

"Off-framework" refers to nurses who have been supplied by private agencies which are not on an approved list of contractors and as such do not have to apply through an open tender process nor provide as much information about their organisation and policies.

This means that off-framework agencies are able to charge far above the normal rate for hiring nurses and do not always abide by the same pay scale, with one agency having been recently reported in The Times as having charged Worcestershire Acute Hospitals £170.61 an hour for nurses, four times the approved framework rate.

Unison deputy head of health Helga Pile said: “Rising spending on agency staff by trusts across England reflects the chronic workforce shortages across the NHS, which have been exacerbated by the demands of the pandemic.

“Plugging the gaps with agency cover is expensive and made necessary because the government has avoided fixing the bigger problem.

"Ministers need to commit to a long-term solution by improving pay to attract more permanent staff and encourage others to stay in the health service."

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show that a total 3,462 shifts were supplied by off-framework agencies across East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust over the last 12 months.

These included, 3249 shifts worked by agency nurses at Royal Blackburn Hospital, 78 at Burnley General, 117 at Pendle Community and 63 at Clitheroe Community.

Operational director of HR Kate Quinn said: “The Trust has had to rely more on agency personnel recently for a number of reasons, not least due to the national nurse shortage.

"In addition, we have needed additional resources to help manage ongoing and sudden sickness due to Covid, plus other conditions and illnesses.

"After an extremely challenging 18 months, we have also been encouraging our staff to take their much-needed annual leave which is essential for their wellbeing.

"These contributing factors and our commitment to patient safety have led to the increased reliance on agency provision.

"Fortunately, year on year we have seen an increase in the number of student nurses carrying out their placements with us and we are successful in offering many those nurses substantive roles within the Trust, once they qualify.

"To help support the effectiveness of our ward environments, we recently successfully recruited a hundred Healthcare Assistants."

In total the NHS spent £6billion on agency and temporary staff across England last year.

Of this, £3.8bn was spent on NHS England ‘bank’ staff and £2.4bn on agency workers.

However, Ms Quinn has said that flexible working could also have its benifits.

She said: "We recognise that many people may prefer to work for agencies as they offer more adaptable working arrangements.

"We hope that with the launch of our flexible working manifesto, more people will be attracted to join our workforce permanently.

They will have the benefit of agency working flexibility, with the added bonus of NHS terms and conditions.

"Our manifesto is in line with the NHS People Plan which hopes to encourage more people to join the NHS and importantly, remain in the NHS.

"However, flexible working is more than just retention. It can unlock new opportunities and contribute to people’s mental health, wellbeing and engagement with their role.

"We pride ourselves on being an inclusive Trust and value the diversity of our workforce and the local community. Our strength is in the fact that ELHT is a family and we are always looking to welcome new members."