Doctors are getting paid up to £7,900 a shift by hospitals to cover for striking staff, new figures have revealed.
A freedom of information request has revealed that the Walton Centre neurology unit in Liverpool paid as much as £7,853 for a neurosurgery shift.
It was also revealed that other hospitals said they had spent over £3,000, the Times reported.
Bosses have said they do not have much choice but to pay ‘over the odds’ figures, as fresh industrial action by doctors and consultants this week is set to see services hammered.
The British Medical Association (BMA) said that its junior doctor and consultant members will only provide ‘Christmas Day’ levels of staffing from 7am today until Thursday.
Hospital dentists from the British Dental Association are also set to walk out during the same time frame, providing emergency care only.
Radiographers at 37 NHS trusts in England will also join picket lines for 24 hours from 8am tomorrow morning.
Data also showed East Kent Hospitals paid £6,247 for a 13-hour general surgery shift.
The figures revealed that multiple hospitals had paid more than £3,000 for a strike shift.