The use of flexible staffing in the NHS is set to increase as it saves the taxpayer money, according to Kate Bleasdale, executive vice chairman of Healthcare Locums (HCL).

Bleasdale’s comments follow reports in the Daily Mail which claim temporary consultants earn as much as £3,200 for a single shift but one was paid £5,700 for working a 24-hour shift in an Accident & Emergency (A&E) unit, equivalent to a £510,000-a-year salary and more than five times the average wage of full-time staff consultants, who typically earn £90,000 a year.

But Bleasdale hit back, saying: “We refute the latest allegations about the cost effectiveness and competence of agency staff. Agency healthcare professionals are highly skilled and experienced individuals who have always been used by the NHS to create a flexible workforce which can be quickly scaled up and down to meet demand. The healthcare requirements of our growing and ageing population means that demand for agency staff is forecast to increase.

“As the NHS seeks efficiency savings, the use of flexible staff will and should increase because they cost the taxpayer less money. And as the public sector is pruned back, the service provided by private sector staffing companies will grow ever more vital.”