Cycling UK Forum

I have a personal interest here. My son is a critical care nurse. He struggles to pay the bills on his NHS income, so he has taken up extra shifts through an agency, for which the rate of pay is much higher. He says other colleagues do the same. Agency staff end up working in NHS hospitals working alongside staff working directly for the NHS, but on a much higher rate of pay. And hospitals have to pay the difference. Wouldn't it make more sense to give NHS nurses a better rate of pay so that they don't feel the need to sign up for agencies, and making them more inclined to boost pay by doing overtime for the NHS at improved NHS rates?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-63588959

Which all points to there being something seriously wrong with the way the NHS is handled and and administered.
The question is,how come it got so badly run that such things were allowed to happen initially and allowed to continue?
I have my theories which involve MPs and cabinet ministers both past and present having close relationships with private healthcare companies.

Who runs and/or owns the agencies? Where does their cut go?

Always consider Hanlon's Razor in this. I'm sure dodgy links have a part to play but suspect a great deal of it is also minister and MP ignorance, gullibility and stupidity.

Regarding the NHS staff themselves, they certainly should get a reasonable wage, however I'd rather they weren't forced to feel like they had to do overtime at all, nor doctors. Does not seem a great idea to have people with that sort of responsibility working whilst potentially fatigued.

mattheus wrote:Who runs and/or owns the agencies? Where does their cut go?

There is an NHS run agency "NHS Professionals" which is a regular target for attempted privatisation.
Trusts are under no obligation to use this agency.
There are a large number of private agencies.

Stevek76 wrote: ↑11 Nov 2022, 4:59pm Regarding the NHS staff themselves, they certainly should get a reasonable wage, however I'd rather they weren't forced to feel like they had to do overtime at all, nor doctors. Does not seem a great idea to have people with that sort of responsibility working whilst potentially fatigued.

It may not be the choice of nurses, but consultants and surgeons absolutely want the ability to earn in private practice too. On the BMA and Royal College of Surgeons websites it takes two minutes to find these statements:

The ability of NHS consultants to carry out private practice in their non-NHS time is an essential part of the flexibility and freedom built into national contracts. This guidance sets out the rights and responsibilities of consultants in relation to private practice, as well as addressing issues of conflicts of interest.

and:

The ability of NHS consultants to carry out private practice in their non-NHS time is an essential part of the flexibility and freedom built into national contracts. This guidance sets out the rights and responsibilities of consultants in relation to private practice, as well as addressing issues of conflicts of interest.

Private medical practice exists in parallel with the NHS. It enables surgeons to practice more independently of NHS targets and allows more direct one-to-one care for patients.

Of those doctors undertaking private practice, the large majority also work in NHS consultant posts, doing their private work outside of and on top of their NHS commitments

Not sure that makes any difference to what i said. Even people who don't need the money can work too much.

Most private employer contracts have conditions that you must clear any secondary employment with them and they are unlikely to consent is that is for rival or they think it might affect your performance for them. And they are certainly not about to buy in extra hours from you via an agency!

millimole wrote: ↑11 Nov 2022, 5:09pm

mattheus wrote:Who runs and/or owns the agencies? Where does their cut go?

There is an NHS run agency "NHS Professionals" which is a regular target for attempted privatisation.
Trusts are under no obligation to use this agency.
There are a large number of private agencies.

Thanks.