Locums in Wales are poorly managed, says Audit Commission

NHS trusts in Wales and the National Assembly have been told that they need to improve controls over locum doctors, including an accreditation scheme. An Audit Commission review has found that management monitoring of the use of locums was poor and that data on the costs and reasons for the use of individual locums were generally missing.

Lack of formal contact with locum agencies also meant that it was not clear whose job it was to carry out each appointment check, resulting in omissions and duplications.

Performance review …