Audit Scotland

“Scottish hospitals could save £6m a year by using fewer agency doctors.”

“locums, who can cost up to £104 an hour compared with £11 an hour for internal staff”

“the number of temporary doctors had surged in the past decade from 3,700 to 8,200”

“Much of the bill was for commission paid to private agencies, which charge an average of 23% and sometimes more than 30%”

“They said the NHS in Scotland could save almost 15% of the money it spent on temporary doctors through better planning”