Work in progress: The Use of Temporary and Agency Nurses

Our July 2020 report Workforce Planning for Nurses and Midwives highlighted issues around nursing workforce pressures and workforce planning which had led to poor value for money. 

Inadequate workforce planning, including prolonged cuts to the under-graduate nursing training budget between 2011-12 and 2016-17, had contributed to rising vacancy levels and increased reliance on more expensive temporary staff, who were also less likely to deliver strong patient outcomes. 

The intended scope of our review will include: 

- Assessing whether the DoH and the Trusts have taken effective action to substantially reduce the high reliance and expenditure on temporary nursing staff, particularly agency staff.

- Consider if further action is still needed to build a more sustainable and cost-effective permanent HSC nursing workforce to better meet patients’ needs and further reduce longer-term reliance and spend on agency staff. 

We aim to publish in February 2026.