§ Mr. Grocottasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average cost to the health authorities (a) of employing a State registered nurse for one week and (b) for recruiting a replacement from an agency for one week.
§ Mr. DeakinsInformation is not available in the precise form requested. The estimated basic weekly cost of a directly employed staff nurse, including salary136W and other basic costs and taking account of entitlement to annual and sick leave, but not including some detailed unquantifiable costs, ranges from £74.12 to £90.18, depending on the point on the scale. The comparable estimated cost of an agency nurse, including salary, agency commission and value added tax, is £80.14. The salary for agency nurses is calculated on the mean of the salary scale. There is no available means of distinguishing centrally between directly employed and agency staff for the cost of enhancements for such things as night or weekend work.