Written question asked by Louise Haigh (Labour) on Thursday, 9 June 2016, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 13 June 2016. It was answered by Alistair Burt (Conservative) on Tuesday, 14 June 2016 on behalf of the Department of Health.

NHS: Temporary Employment

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the capping of payments to NHS agency staff on levels of patient safety.

Answer: Patient safety continues to be paramount and the rules include a ‘break glass’ provision for trusts should there be a need to pay in excess of the agency price caps for patient safety reasons. Trust boards are responsible for monitoring the impact of price caps and ensuring patient safety. More broadly, the Care Quality Commission Chief Inspector of Hospitals has been clear that he wants to see fewer agency staff because of the patient safety implications - continuity of care being so important to good services for patients.

Secondary information