Bid to cut agency staff use working, minister says

Efforts to cut the Health and Social Services Department's reliance on agency healthcare workers are paying off, Jersey Health Minister Tom Binet has said.

In a written reply to a deputy, the minister said the department needed agency staff to cover gaps in areas hit by nationwide shortages, but said work was underway to reduce the numbers.

Official figures show the number of agency nurses dropped sharply over the past year, falling from 39 in January 2025 to 15 in January this year.

Binet said the team was strengthening its internal staff bank so that short‑term shifts could be filled by existing workers rather than outside agencies.

The total number of agency staff used reached a high of 95 last March, but fell to 68 in January 2026.

The department said its recruitment campaigns to appoint people into substantive posts had led to a reduction in the reliance on agency workers.

Binet said: "We are working to reduce our reliance on agency staff, which is currently necessary to cover gaps in our substantive workforce particularly in roles affected by national labour market shortages."

He added that some agency cover would "always be required to maintain safe service delivery".

Binet confirmed that 139 permanent full‑time staff had joined in 2025.

He said these included 10 doctors and consultants, 59 nurses and midwives, 65 civil servants and allied health professionals, and five ambulance staff.

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