4 Trusts, 1 Staff Bank and You

Thousands of doctors can instantly book shifts using innovative mobile technology, saving the NHS millions.

This month saw the launch of the proudly named “South England Collaborative Staff Bank”; a cross organisational shared workforce agreement between four Trusts working hard to push boundaries and be at the forefront of the NHS workforce revolution.

The success of our partnership with Ashford and St Peter’s Hospital and Royal Surrey County Hospital in combining their staff banks has shown that collaboration is key and essential in dealing with the NHS workforce crisis. This collaboration has now expanded and welcomes Hampshire Hospitals and Salisbury Hospital and we believe that these pioneering Trusts will pave the way for all Trusts across the NHS.

Officially launched on May fourth, we of course fully appreciated the significance of the date and aptly wished our partner Trusts “May the fourth be with you all!”…..

In the current climate where hospitals are pushed to the limit with staff shortages and increasing demands on the dedicated NHS staff, there must be a positive change which addresses the workforce burdens and offers a simple and replicable solution. Locum’s Nest has successfully done this and has taken the power away from the agencies and handed it back to the Trusts by enabling them access to their own staff and be in control.

A digital solution to allow hospitals to tap into their own pool of doctors is one thing but breaking down boundaries and expanding this pool and allowing access to a greater number of doctors is ground breaking.

Being a doctor myself, I know first hand the frustration and soul-destroying affect dealing with endless amounts of paperwork has. With the digital collaborative staff bank, we have streamlined the process and removed this paper barrage of pre-employment checks. Doctors either fully substantive or a member of the bank at any one of the Trusts in the collaborative can now work flexibly and freely between the hospitals without being subject to multiple paper forms.

Doctors now have greater control and choice over where and when they choose to do any locum work and the hospitals have an instant expansion in the number of qualified and fully compliant doctors available to cover the vacant shifts. This improved autonomy and choice for both managers and doctors ultimately ensures seamless and optimal patient care.

In keeping with the “NHS Five Year Forward View” this collaboration addresses the recommendation for Trusts to work together to address staffing shortages and with the workforce constituting the majority of Trusts’ expenditure, we believe and have already demonstrated this shared working model will ensure significant cost savings for our partner hospitals.

July sees the NHS celebrate its 70th birthday and this incredible institution deserves all the support the healthcare community and wider can offer. Digitalisation and harnessing innovation is key to elevate the already phenomenal work the NHS staff do and the digital collaborative staff bank and blossoming partnerships with our Trusts achieves this.