Recruitment agencies supplying staff to hospitals have hit back at the unions who claim that recruiters are charging outrageous fees.
Karen Jennings, the Head of Health at Unison, said it made no sense to ask private sector companies to invest in the NHS. She pointed out that NHS Professionals, a managed flexible services provider, was set up to put an end to recruitment agencies ripping off hospitals with outrageous charges for recruiting staff.
NHSP, with about 50,000 people on its books, is the largest supplier of temporary workers to the NHS filling more than 2 million shifts per year.
However, a spokesperson for Healthcare Locums, a medical recruitment specialist, said Unison’s promotion of NHSP was misguided. Since its inception, NHSP has lost nearly £100m of taxpayer’s money which far outweighs the profits of the largest independent healthcare recruiting agencies.
Independent research has shown that the average NHSP doctor costs approximately £4,500 more per annum than the equivalent professional obtained from one of the leading private agencies.
The REC was quick to counter the UNISON attack. Tom Hadley, the Director of External Relations for the REC agreed that NHSP has been extremely costly to set up and administer. He pointed out that flexible staffing is essential to the delivery of frontline services and the government’s announcement that it will seek private sector involvement in NHSP shows its commitment to the flexible working model.
At the beginning of August, the Department of Health announced that NHSP may be sold off thus creating a level playing field, a measure the REC would welcome. Interested private sector investors have been invited to register their interest no later than August 27.
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