NHS and Patients best served by permanent staff

4.03.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 26th Jul 2006

Commenting on the National Audit Office's report on improving the use of temporary nursing staff in hospitals, Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, Steve Webb MP said "Wherever possible, trusts should be maximising their use of permanent NHS staff who provide better continuity of care and higher patient satisfaction."

Continuing Steve said "Too often hospitals are paying over the odds to nursing agencies when the money would be better spent recruiting and retaining permanent staff. "At a time when the NHS is so short of money, it is vital that the use of expensive agency staff is kept to an absolute minimum."