Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP Jeremy Balfour for Lothian has highlighted the “staggering” increases in the amount of paid overtime being carried out by NHS workers in NHS Lothian.
Freedom of Information Requests from the Scottish Conservatives showed that staff shortages have meant that almost 11 million hours of paid overtime have been carried out during the last five years.
They reveal a total overtime bill of nearly £230 million between 2017/18 and 2021/22, but the figure is likely to be higher as NHS Forth Valley failed to respond and the figures don’t include unpaid overtime.
The dependency on paid overtime across Scotland is also increasing on three measurements- the number of staff undertaking paid overtime, the number of paid overtime hours and the cost of the paid overtime hours.
In NHS Lothian, the cost of paid overtime hours in 2017/18 was £6,236,865.94 but by 2021/22, that had soared to £8,874,144.90 in 2021/2022.
The number of staff undertaking paid overtime hours in NHS Lothian has also increased from 4,855 to 6,958.
Jeremy Balfour says the figures highlight the enormous toll the SNP’s mismanagement is taking on frontline staff in NHS Lothian.
He added that it is testament to the dedication of frontline staff that they are willing to work this overtime to support patients but it only increases the risk of staff burnout.
Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP Jeremy Balfour said: “The number of paid overtime hours having to be carried out by frontline staff in NHS Lothian shows the total mismanagement of our NHS by the SNP.
“Most of the crises in our health service stem from personnel shortages which have only been increasing during the SNP’s time in office.
“It is testament to the dedication and professionalism of frontline staff in MHS Lothian that they have taken on these overtime hours, but it only puts them at risk of further burnout.
“The figure of the number of overtime hours in NHS Lothian shows that this is simply not a sustainable way to run our NHS.
“It is time for the SNP to take measures to ease the overwhelming pressures on current staff in NHS Lothian, which could include by backing Scottish Conservative proposals to lift the cap on the number of funded places for Scottish students on medical places at our universities.”
