Northern Health Trust high cost agency appointments 'continue to be a financial pressure'
The interim chief executive of the Northern Health and Social Care Trust has warned that “financial challenges can be expected to continue”.
Suzanne Pullins was speaking at last week’s meeting of the Trust board at Causeway Hospital, Coleraine.
In an update on the Northern Trust’s financial position, Stevie Lennon, interim director of finance, told board members that the Trust has been able to deliver a financial surplus of £72.5k at March 2026.
Members also heard that projected savings of £33.6m were achieved.
A total spend of £71.3m on agency staff during the last financial year was reported. Of this 26.2 per cent (£18.6m) was spent “on off-framework agencies” with nursing, healthcare assistants and medical locum agency spend representing 78 per cent of the total agency spend, the report stated.
The report noted: “The Trust continues to experience a shortfall in the recruitment and retention of mainly medical and nursing staff. As a result, there is a reliance on high cost off-contract agency appointments. This continues to be a financial pressure, which will impact into 2026/27.
“The Trust continues to review, monitor and drive down costs where applicable.
“Cost pressures continue to be raised by providers in the independent sector with regard to the impact of the National Minimum Wage in social settings, and other inflationary pressures ie within nursing and residential care settings and with domiciliary care providers.”
The report also indicated that Covid costs are continuing to reduce annually with an expenditure of almost £2.7m by the Northern Trust which includes £685k on lab testing, £1.7m on PPE and £163k on vaccinations.
---
Read more:
---
Separately, at the meeting, members were advised of £157k additional funding required for a new extension, five en-suite bedrooms, occupational therapy/ physio rehabilitation room, plant room and staff facility at Robinson Memorial Hospital, Ballymoney, bringing the overall cost to almost £3m.
Of this sum, almost £1.7m will be funded by the Robinson Hospital charitable trust funds that exist for the Robinson Memorial Hospital held by the Trust, £640,000 funding held privately by the Robinson board of trustees and £561,828 required additional funding. Construction work is scheduled for completion in July 2027.
A new alongside midwifery-led unit is under construction at Antrim Hospital at a cost of £3.45m.