Daily digest June 8 2015

Agency doctors earning 50% more than payroll colleagues

Agency doctors are routinely paid 50% more than the rates they would earn on the NHS payroll, according to figures reported by the Daily Telegraph.

Financial services company Liaison analysed payments made by 40 NHS trusts – one in four hospitals – to 2,400 locum medics during the first three quarters of 2014/15.

The review revealed that typical pay for temporary medics is now approaching £100 an hour, with the best paid receiving up to £460,000 a year.

The figures show that in most specialties, typical pay for locums is now 40-50% higher than the standard pay rate for the job.

Read more on the Telegraph website

Fewer people displaying mental illness held in police custody

The incidence of police cells being used to detain people displaying mental health problems in public dropped in the past year, down almost a third on the year before, figures show.

The Guardian reports that police figures for England and Wales show individuals were held in police custody under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 4,537 times in 2014/15, compared with 6,667 times the previous year.

The reduction follows government plans to prohibit the use of police cells as ‘places of safety’ for those under 18 and to reduce the 72-hour detention period for adults.

Read more on the Guardian website

Being overweight may not be all bad, study suggests

Overweight people who have had a heart attack may live longer than healthy people because certain fats are programmed to guard the body against heart disease, research has found.

The University of Oxford study suggests that body fat can act as a last line of defence against a heart attack and stroke by releasing anti-inflammatory chemicals.

Read more on the Independent website

Nursing agency makes £43 million from NHS

A nursing agency once owned by an offshore company in the Cayman Islands charged the NHS £43 million last year to supply staff.

The Daily Mail reports that its investigation has found Thornbury Nursing Services raked in up to £6.5 million from individual hospital trusts, billing them as much as £1,800 per shift.

It says a freedom of information request sent to hospital trusts revealed that last year four agencies charged the NHS £88 million for nurses alone.

Read more on the Mail Online website