THE latest report from the Audit Office shines a light on the skyrocketing costs of agency nurses but also raises serious questions about the management of our health and social care system.

The shocking figures are a shameful reflection of appalling workforce planning in the face of unprecedented capacity challenges.

We are told ad nauseam that the north needs more money. Politicians of all hues never tire of lamenting the underfunding from the British government.

Recently there have been some muted conversations about reducing waste and improving efficiency in public services, but little by way of meaningful action.

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Our ruling classes do not have the stomach to address deep-rooted structural inefficiencies and instead prioritise distraction and deflection. Few are willing to acknowledge that the parlous state of our health and social care system is in large part due to financial mismanagement, short-termism and firefighting.

This Audit Office assessment of agency nursing is scathing, highlighting the scandalous waste of taxpayers’ money with little or no regard to providing value for money.

The high dependency on agency nurses resulted in the bill for Northern Ireland health trusts more than tripling from £52.1m in 2018-19 to £161.6m in 2024-25.

Agency staff cost........

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