Western Isles Hospital Get the latest Scottish politics news sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter More Newsletters Subscribe Please enter a valid email Something went wrong, please try again later. More Newsletters We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info Thank you for subscribing! We have more newsletters Show me See Our Privacy Notice See Our Privacy Notice × Group 28 Get the latest Scottish politics news sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign Up No thanks, close We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info × Group 28 Thank you for subscribing! We have more newsletters Show Me No thanks, close See our Privacy Notice A Scottish health board is spending over £1m a year on two locum consultants, a tribunal has heard. NHS Western Isles is splashing out nearly £1.2m for a pair of senior psychiatrists, according to figures presented at the tribunal. This is an increase of £100,000 on the previous year.
Labour said "questions must be asked about how the SNP government has allowed NHS Western Isles to go so unsupported in terms of specialist staff." The Lib Dems urged the Scottish Government "to end its shambolic approach to workforce planning and increase the number of consultant psychiatrists in training to plug these gaps." The tribunal heard that locums can cost the health service £600,000 a year. This is much more than the £200,000 for employing a consultant psychiatrist in a permanent position. The health board said it struggles to fill the positions with permanent doctors and that overspending on temporary staff has an impact on other patients' care. Read More Related Articles Labour distances itself from Glasgow councillor in schools anti-white
racism row Read More Related Articles Humza Yousaf 'would like to see' conclusion of Operation Branchform investigation into SNP finances The figures were revealed during a case involving consultant psychiatrist Denitza Mihaylova who was sacked after she fell ill and was unable to fulfil her on call commitments at night. Over a period of almost two years, the NHS paid locums to cover her while she was off sick but sacked her after concluding that funding this arrangement was "no longer viable". Mihaylova sued the health board for disability discrimination and unfair dismissal but her case was rejected after the tribunal found the health board had to manage its budget responsibly. The health board produced figures which showed that the total budget for mental health services for 2022/23 was £2,843,881 and from that for psychiatry the budget was £520,986. But locum costs for 2022/23 were actually £1,073,308 for two doctors, including the second locum to cover for Mihaylova. The tribunal was told that the budget for mental health services for 2023/24 had increased to £4,314,314, with a psychiatry budget of £611,775. The projected cost of employing two locum consultant psychiatrists employed since her dismissal was put at £1,179,076. Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: “With so much money being spent on locum psychiatrists, questions must be asked about how the SNP government has allowed NHS Western Isles to go so unsupported in terms of specialist staff. “We cannot have the Scottish public paying the price of SNP failure to ensure access to vital healthcare across Scotland.” Scottish politics Health boards blow millions on taxis Labour conference braced for
protests SNP lost thousands of members in 2023 Matheson urged to reject pay-out Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “There is a dangerous staffing crisis within NHS mental health services, with vacancies at particularly high levels in rural and remote parts of the country. "Scottish Liberal Democrat research has previously revealed that 1 in 4 of the most senior mental health roles are either lying empty or being filled on a temporary basis, meaning longer waits for patients and vast amounts of money being spent on staff to try and plug gaps. “Mental health services are crying out for new hope. The SNP Government needs to end its shambolic approach to workforce planning and increase the number of consultant psychiatrists in training to plug these gaps." A spokesperson from NHS Western Isles said: " There is a shortage of consultant psychiatrists nationally with circa 60% of posts across
Scotland being vacant. "One of the things that drives the cost, is that there is a requirement to have 24/7 Consultant Psychiatrist provision within the Acute Psychiatric Unit at the Western Isles Hospital and the Community Mental Health Services. "Rates are always negotiated with the lowest cost being chosen given the key requirements being met. "NHS Western Isles continues to advertise for these vacancies and is scheduled to interview prospective candidates through Spring 2024 ." The Scottish Government was approached for comment. To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here . Story Saved You can find this story in My Bookmarks. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Follow Daily Record
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