Should there be a limit on fees for agency staff in the NHS?
Jeremy Hunt has ordered the NHS to curb its use of employment agencies and rein in sending on temporary staff.
The health secretary has told the NHS to cut its £3.3bn bill for agency staff, a sum that has risen from £1.8bn in the past three years.
New government rules will impose a maximum hourly rate for agency doctors and nurses and cap the amount that NHS trusts in financial difficulty can spend on agency staff. An approved list of employment agencies will be drawn up and trusts banned from using agencies that have not been approved.
