A NHS unit has been found to pay up to £20,000 a week to doctors to cover the shortfall in medical staff.

North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust is known to have spent £20,000 on hiring a surgeon for one week, which amounts to a remuneration of more than £1million a year. The shortage in medical staff has been felt since a directive from the EU the number of hours people can work in the week to 48.

Experts say that the directive is causing millions of pounds to the taxpayers because of a significant increase in salaries demanded by doctors to fill these shortages in hospitals. It is believed that countries including Netherlands and Spain, avoid the effects of the directive by deploying junior doctors and calling them `autonomous workers' who are exempt from the rule.

Tory MP Dr Phillip Lee has said that the coalition government is aiming to get some flexibility on the working hours for doctors under the European law.

The Department of Health said, "We understand that there are a number of real concerns over the impact that the EU Working Time Directive has on the NHS."

It also said that Andrew Lansley and Vince Cable from the government are aiming to revising the directive at an EU level to allow some flexibility needed by the NHS in operating and he negotiations for the matters are ongoing.