Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Wales Office

Oral Answers to Questions

Teresa Pearce Excerpts
Wednesday 3rd December 2014

(9 years, 11 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Teresa Pearce Portrait Teresa Pearce (Erith and Thamesmead) (Lab)
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Q15. In the past four years the NHS has spent more than £5 billion on agency staff, about 20% of which will have gone into the pockets of the agencies rather than those of NHS staff. How many full-time permanent nurses would that have paid for?

Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton Portrait The Prime Minister
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What we have in the NHS under this Government are £1,300 extra nurses and 8,300 extra doctors, and because we have cut the bureaucracy, we have managed to remove 21,000 bureaucrats. No one wants to see extensive use of agency staff. All well-run hospitals will have fewer agency staff and more permanent staff: that is what is happening under this Government.