NHS Lanarkshire shelled out more than £1.5million last year flying in English consultants in a bid to cut waiting times.
That’s because of a shortage in specialist doctors and an “inability to recruit”.
The health board said they shelled out more than £1,535,592 to fly in top doctors from Birmingham-based Medinet to run weekend out-patient appointments.
And it now transpires Medinet have been used since 2016 to cover weekend working across NHS Lanarkshire’s three main sites, including University Hospital Monklands.
Prior to this, health chiefs say, the service was provided by its own in-house consultants.
Sources said a “desperate shortage” of senior consulting staff was the root cause for the dire backlog in out-patient appointments.
Indeed, things got so bad that the health board would have repeatedly missed waiting time targets had it not been for extra staff from south of the border.
The huge additional funding makes bleak reading and makes a huge dent in the health board’s coffers, with bosses having already forked out an eye-watering £12.3m on locum cover in 2018/19.
Statistics from the Scottish Government’s Information Services Division (ISD) show that to be an all-time high and more than double the £5.3m fee of just five years ago. Opposition parties are now calling for the “workforce crisis” to be dealt with “urgently”.
Central Scotland Tory MSP Graham Simpson said: “It is deeply concerning to see real issues with consultant recruitment within NHS Lanarkshire.
“It is clear the health board does have hiring issues to deliver the required level of care.
“It is essential that the NHS is properly staffed and funded so that all patients receive the care they need.”
Judith Park, NHS Lanarkshire deputy director of acute services, added: “The clinics have been well-received by patients, with a good uptake of weekend appointments.
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“These give people improved choice, flexibility and convenience of appointment times. Weekend appointments have also had a positive effect on our waiting times.
“This has been at a time when, like all Scottish health boards, we have had challenges recruiting consultant staff.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Total medical agency spend represented one per cent of NHS Lanarkshire’s total budget throughout 2018-19.
“The use of agency and temporary staff allows NHS boards to continue to provide vital frontline services during times of planned and unplanned absences, including when posts are vacant.
“We always ask that in seeking agency staff, NHS boards achieve best value while ensuring the continuation of local service provision.”
