Media reports that the NHS paid more than £121 an hour for agency nurses did not give the full picture, according to information revealed to Recruiter.

Information released to the Conservative Party under the Freedom of Information Act showed that Royal Chesterfield NHS Foundation Trust paid £121.10 an hour for nursing cover.

However, the reports failed to mention that this was the hourly rate for a senior sister on its A & E department on Christmas Day and not the normal rate.

A Trust spokesman told Recruiter: "There was a shortage of staff in the emergency department at a busy time on Christmas Day 2006. A senior grade nurse from an agency was asked to work and we paid a premium rate for this because of the demand for agency staff over the Bank Holiday period. The standard rate charged for that grade of nurse was £52.37 an hour."

Alan Frew, divisional manager at MasterStaff Healthcare in Preston told Recruiter that the figures reported were "extortionate", and not ones he had ever come across. He said his agency only charged around £60, half the figure quoted.

Frew said Masterstaff's margins were between 24% and 32%, depending on the contract and the local NHS Trust.

"Our margins have come down in the last few years because the NHS uses preferred supplier lists, so it's really tight."

Agencies who are outside the NHS PASA (Purchasing and Supply Agency) national framework agreement are free to charge higher rates. The manager of a nursing agency in the Midlands, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of jeopardising her contracts with the NHS, said she had seen other examples of agencies outside the agreement charging similar rates.

Nursing recruiter Thornbury Nursing Services' website shows that pay rates vary for supplying staff. Basic rates for nurses in charge of a specialist unit such as A&E start at £32 but go up as high as £79.50 an hour on bank holidays.

An NHS PASA spokesperson said the £120 per hour charge was not common and not one of the NHS PASA framework agreement rates.