MORE NHS BOONDOGGLING: PAYING SOME FILL-IN NURSES $300,000/YEAR

DAILY MAIL: NHS squanders millions on agency staff - with some nurses earning up to £128 an HOUR

Millions of pounds of health service funds are being wasted employing agency nurses on up to £128 an hour.

This is almost ten times the amount paid to an experienced staff nurse - and equates to a salary of £250,000.

Overall, the health service spent almost £800million on agency doctors, nurses and consultants in 2006-07, according to the figures uncovered in a Freedom of Information request. That could fund around ten hospitals or employ 30,000 full- time experienced nurses.

Agency staff are plugging the holes left by the 11,000 nurses who left to work overseas last year, seeking better pay and conditions.

The yawning gap between rates for NHS workers and agency locums exists at every level including managers and even prison GPs, who have been paid up to £158 an hour.

The figures also show that much of the money goes into the pockets of agency bosses rather than to the workers, who can earn less than two-thirds of what the NHS pays out.

The Department of Health insists that the amount spent on agency staff is falling, year on year.

But critics say it must do more to prevent agencies 'creaming off' millions meant to improve the standards of care. Dr Peter Carter, the chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said: 'We are concerned and we want the Government to tackle this as a matter of urgency.

'If the NHS made more effort attracting and retaining permanent staff, it would obviate the need for many agency nurses.

'It's understandable that members of the public seeing these huge rates wonder whether nurses really are underpaid, but the reality is that individuals working for agencies get much less than the NHS is charged. There are private companies that are making a killing out of the NHS.'

He said many nurses were emigrating, partly because the NHS could not help with high housing costs in many areas.

He said: 'There has been a huge surge in UK nurses wanting to work abroad and they have employment opportunities in the U.S., Australia, South Africa and other countries. Almost 11,000 went last year.

THIS IS WHAT OBAMA, THE CHICAGO MACHINE AND THE SEIU WANT TO DO TO OUR HEALTH SYSTEM: TURN IT INTO A CASH COW FOR THEIR CORRUPT BUDDIES.

ER, UM... IF IT'S SO GOOD THERE, THEN WHY ARE THEIR DOCTORS AND NURSES - AND PATIENTS!! - ALL WANTING TO COME HERE!?!?