HEALTH boards in Scotland have splashed out more than £1,500 for an agency nurse to cover a single shift, freedom of information requests revealed yesterday.

NHS Lanarkshire paid £1,565 to an agency for one shift in 2015-16, while NHS Lothian said the largest sum it spent in the last three years was £1,528.

Tayside NHS bosses confirmed they had paid £1,251 for a single shift in 2015-16, while Ayrshire & Arran estimated its highest single payment recently was between £1,300 and £1,600.