NHS Wales spending on agency staff continued to rise last year as health boards struggled to recruit and retain staff, the nation’s spending watchdog has said.
Recruitment and retention issues have led to a 3% reduction in the social care workforce – the first decline in the sector since 2012, experts have said.
The children’s care sector needs a workforce strategy to improve services and conditions for staff, with the regulator labelling the situation “more urgent than ever”.
Staff shortages in the NHS and social care pose the “biggest risk to post-pandemic recovery” and health service funding needs to grow twice as fast as it has in the past decade, research has...
