MSPs in the Borders have described of a 'slap in the face' for staff nurses as they reveal agency nurses are costing the health board up to £93 an hour.

In figures provided following a Freedom of Information request from the Scottish Conservatives, it was revealed that in 2015/16 period, the largest amount paid for an agency nurse for one shift was £93.45 an hour.

A shift is defined as a working day of between eight and 14 hours, meaning the total payment for the shift would have been between £747 and £1,308.

The news comes after it was revealed that NHS Borders is spending twice as much as the previous year on external agency staff.

John Lamont and Rachael Hamilton, both Scottish Conservative MSPs have said the figures are an astonishing waste of taxpayers’ money and also a slap in the face to staff nurses.

John Lamont MSP said: “It is staggering that NHS Borders, who are struggling to balance its books this year, are forking out over £90 an hour for agency nurses.

“This is a slap in the face of hard working staff nurses who can only dream of such remuneration.

“Agency which happen from time to time, but they should only be as last resort and there is absolutely no reason why health boards should be paying agencies this kind of money.

Rachael Hamilton MSP added: “Clearly there is a serious issue when agency staff nurses are receiving such disproportionate salaries compared to working staff nurses.

“NHS Borders have little choice however when the Scottish Government is failing to train enough nurses.

“And it seems that the situation is only getting worse with NHS Borders spending twice as much on external agency staff as it did last year.

Following the release of the figures, a spokesperson from NHS Borders told the Border Telegraph: “Patient safety is a priority, staff levels are reviewed daily and in some instances the final decision is to fill shifts with agency staff in order to provide a safe service. 

“To illustrate, we needed the equivalent of 12 extra nurses over the course of a year. Rates are high for agency cover, especially if it is a bank holiday, a weekend or overnight.”

In October 2016, a report published by Audit Scotland highlighted that NHS Borders had spent more than twice as much on external agency staff in 2015/16 compared to 2014/15.