NHS Improvement has announced it is pausing its plans to ban trusts from using agency staff who also hold substantive roles in the NHS, until further notice.

The ban on agency staff was designed to encourage nurses and doctors to seek overtime shifts via internal NHS banks, rather than agencies. The new restriction was supposed to come into effect Saturday 1 April.

In a letter, Jim Mackey, Chief Executive of NHS Improvement, stated: “Trusts have taken great strides on cutting back agency costs, saving over £700 million this year alone. We know that the nursing workforce has contributed the lion’s share of the savings made, and we are grateful for these efforts, on top of the excellent care and commitment they offer patients day in day out.”

“We have listened and responded to the feedback from nurses about the latest agency rules on substantive staff. We’re committed to getting it right for nurses and doctors alike and making sure the system and the way staff can work is fair and equal, which is why we’re taking more time to work with the sector,” Mackey said.

"We will be supporting trusts with the new tax rules which come into force next week, and will continue with our focus on getting medical locums to match the success nurses have achieved in bringing costs down,” Mackey said.

Recruitment &Employment Confederation chief executive Kevin Green commented on the pause: “We are delighted NHSI have seen sense and stepped back from this hastily proposed ban which risked throwing the NHS into chaos.”

“It’s the right thing to pause and think again having listened to the feedback from us, our members and other stakeholders like the RCN, and to the voices of all the nurses and doctors who work so hard in the NHS, no matter what their employment status.

“We are committed to working with NHSI to help develop flexible staffing models for the NHS that ensure safety and sustainability for patients and workforce alike.”