Jersey temp health staff costs rise by nearly £22m

Figures showed more than £37m was spent on temporary staff in Jersey's health department in 2023 - the figure for 2021 was just under £16m

Money spent on temporary healthcare and social workers has more than doubled in three years, official figures in Jersey have shown.

Deputy Max Andrews sent a written question to Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham asking how much the island's government had spent on staff who were not full-time States of Jersey workers in the health department.

In his response, Mr Farnham said the government spent £37.7m on agency health and social care staff in 2023, which was up from almost £16m in 2021.

The figures also showed the States spent £40m on temporary consultants in 2023, an increase from £33m the year before.

According to the figures published in Mr Farnham's response, the total spend on temporary health and social care staff in 2022 in Jersey just under £24m.

The figures also showed there had been a fall in the spend on temporary consultants between 2021 and 2022, with the total for the former reaching almost £40m.