SPENDING on agency nurses has rocketed by more than 600 per cent in five years according to figures obtained by Barnsley East MP Michael Dugher.
Mr Dugher has raised concern over the figures he says show that Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is paying for more agency nurses to plug staffing gaps.
The figures, obtained by Mr Dugher under a freedom of information request, show that Barnsley Hospital employed 246 agency nurses at a cost of £497,417 in 2014-15, compared to just 65 at a cost of £67,383 in 2010-11.
** The full story is in the Barnsley Chronicle newspaper, dated August 21. **
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