NHS spends millions rehiring retired doctors and nurses to cope with staff shortages

MILLIONS are being spent rehiring retired doctors and nurses as the NHS struggles to cope with chronic staff shortages.

Health boards have spent more than £18 million bringing retired staff back to work, after they have already retired and cashed in their pension.

Many of the staff are being brought back to bail out short- staffed hospitals.

Eben Wilson, of Taxpayer Scotland, blamed “poor staff planning” for the problem, claiming it is “endemic across NHS Scotland”.

Many critics say the NHS is facing one of its biggest staff recruitment crisis ever.

Junior doctors are heading overseas to work at an high rate and many qualified medics are considering their career options in order to dodge controversial plans for a seven-day NHS.

The medical brain-drain means many HR managers have been left with no option but to bring back experienced, specialist retirees.

According to Scottish Government data, the number of retired staff being rehired by the NHS has doubled, rising from 248 in 2010/2011 to 588 in 2013/14.

But the true number could be far higher as the Scottish Government figures don’t cover this year, with recent health board figures suggesting soaring use.

Tax awareness campaigner Mr Wilson added: “In recent weeks we have found that taxpayers are paying for huge agency nurses bills, stand-in consultant locums, and now double-dipping retirees, all of whom are living on inflation proofed taxpayer funded pensions already.

“This has got to stop health is a fully devolved power and we are a small nation where the management of the NHS should be easier and much more efficient.”

Margaret Watt, chair of Scotland Patients Association, said the lack of staff was down to managers who don’t see, first-hand, what’s happening on wards.

However, Norman Provan, associate director of the Royal College of Nursing Scotland, said the union supports the rehiring of retired staff, especially given the staffing issues faced by the NHS.

“At a time when many boards are struggling to recruit enough nurses to care for patients and meet increasing demands on our health

service, it makes sense to re-employ nurses who have retired,” he said.

Health Secretary Shona Robison defended NHS Scotland saying the body has “more staff than ever before”.

She said retired staff often return on the basis of reduced hours and also pointed out the NHS provides an earnings limit “to ensure that their pension payments and re-employed earnings . . . do not breach the allowable limits”.