£1,000 for a nurse's shift!

Yes, that's what one crazy outfit masquerading as an NHS Trust has done! North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple recruited a specialist paediatric nurse at £115.65 an hour. It paid £983 for an eight-and-a-half hour shift on New Year's Eve. How do we know. Because of the Freedom of Information Act. This piece of legislation is probably one of the few that New Labour can be proud of. The funny thing is that this very act is helping to disclose the folly of much of the mismanagement going on today in the Health Service and elsewhere.

But before we get carried away thinking the nurse got much of this money, we should remember it nearly all goes into the pockets of the agency bosses. As the Taxpayers' Alliance says, "This data confirms the financial folly of employing agency staff rather than permanent staff. This strategy always looks like it will save money but actually ends up costing more."

What sort of accountant recommends this nonsense? Not one working for the public interest, that's certain!

Posted in: NHS,Taxpayers Alliance