MORE than 230 registered nurses' posts are currently vacant in Gwent - and health bosses have begun the task of trying to fill them, to help bring soaring agency costs under control.

A figure of 236 vacancies is mentioned in a review report on Aneurin Bevan University Health Board's 2014/15 winter plan, with unfilled posts identified as a factor in a steep rise in the use of agency nurses during December-March.

And a health board finance report also reveals that during 2014/15, around £6.5 million was spent on agency nurses, with such costs rising steadily as the year progressed.

More than half of the overall annual agency nursing bill for Gwent was racked up during December-March, with the bill topping £1m in March alone.

Around £2.5m has already been spent on agency nurses in the first three months of the current financial year.

The figure for June - £743,000 - is the lowest since last December, but is almost three times the amount spent during the same month last year.

The increasing cost of agency nurses is not a problem unique to Gwent, and it is a significant factor in health boards' struggles to tackle budget deficits.

In Gwent, the health board's overall budget for 2015/16 was overspent by almost £7.5m by the end of June and an overspend of around £30m is predicted unless extra funding is forthcoming, and savings made.

Anne Phillimore, the health board's director of workforce and organisational development, said the turnover rate for nursing staff has increased, and steps are being taken to try to maximise recruitment locally, and to retain existing staff.

There are also emerging issues with Home Office quotas for certain overseas groups.

"Some of the turnover issues have been among people recruited in the last 12 months, and we have introduced a 'buddy' system for new staff and a system of work rotation for new recruits so they have an opportunity to work in different specialties," she said.

"We have held interviews for nurses through Skype, and have filled 11 posts by that method, and the first round of our international recruitment programme started this week, and we have made 27 job offers through that."

Initiatives are also being developed on an NHS Wales basis, to make Wales an attractive place to work for healthcare staff.