AIREDALE Hospital has breached new limits on pay for agency doctors and nurses.

It and other hospital trusts in the district have all paid sums in excess of a new Government cap to cover shifts and keep patients safe.

High costs of agency staff have been blamed for fuelling NHS debt and the new rules were drawn-up to cap the amount that could be spent on any shift, with limits due to be steadily reduced between November and now.

But there is a clause which says the cap can be breached on “exceptional safety grounds”.

Stacey Hunter, director of operations at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, said there had been a small number of cases where the trust needed to agree a rate for agency staff above the capped rate to ensure patient care and safety was maintained.

“At all times our top priority is to ensure the safety of the hospital and our patients and therefore there may be occasions when there is a need to supplement our employed workforce to cover short-term gaps in rotas due to illness, for example,” she added.

“When we use agencies we always look to recruit staff below the capped rates. However, there have been a small number of cases where we have needed to agree a rate for agency staff above the capped rate to ensure patient care and safety is maintained.”

Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the Centre for Mental Health in the grounds of Airedale Hospital, says it has been monitoring any breaches since the cap was introduced.

Sandra Knight, director of human resources and organisation development, said: "In December there were 68 clinical shifts out of 333 shifts that were filled by 18 individuals who were paid above the price cap.

“Many of these had pre-existing contracts before the agency price caps were introduced. By March 21, 2016, this figure had reduced significantly to 14 individuals working 47 shifts, from a total of 319 shifts.”

A spokesman for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke’s Hospital, said its preference was to “substantively fill vacancies” and it was recruiting staff.

Councillor Vanda Greenwood, chairman of Bradford Council’s health and social care overview and scrutiny committee, said: “A hospital cannot be run efficiently without the appropriate number of nurses. The safety of the patient is paramount and therefore hospitals have no choice but to ensure that the required number of nurses are working at any one time.”