NINE in 10 public-sector healthcare bosses admit using expensive agency workers to fill staff gaps as government-imposed pay caps drive away full-timers, according to a report published yesterday.

Unison commissioned the Smith Institute to uncover the staffing crisis faced by local councils and the NHS.

Two thirds of respondents working in NHS trusts also said that they were “unsure” whether they had enough staff to meet high demands.

More than half of NHS human resources managers plan to recruit from overseas.

An increasing number of public healthcare employees cannot afford to continue working for salaries set by the government that do not keep up with costs of living.

Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said: “Capping pay and keeping it significantly lower than wages in the private sector hardly makes the NHS and local government the attractive and rewarding career options they used to be.”