Supporting Our Healthcare Workers Through Covid 19

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all NHS healthcare workers, key workers and those fighting on the frontline to bravely protect the UK nation in the fight against Covid 19.

You are our heroes.

Our new technology – an NHS Staff Bank, Covid 19 workforce tracker & more

The NHS’ staff are its most valuable asset. We’ve always known the NHS shows unmatched dedication and commitment day in, day out. However, these incredible qualities have shone through in recent weeks against unparalleled challenges and the system has provided nothing but excellence when caring for the health of a nation.
We’re one of UK’s largest medical recruitment agencies, providing staff to 90% of NHS Trusts. We’ve learnt first-hand that in order to keep providing the best healthcare in the world, staff need to be happy, healthy and engaged with their Trust, and that’s where we can help.
Working shoulder-to-shoulder with our healthcare heroes, we believe we have a duty to help support the NHS and its’ staff through this pandemic, which is why we have developed a new digital staffing platform that’s free to all NHS trusts until October 2020.
Our new technology allows us to offer a wide range of permanent, temporary and staff bank employment opportunities for doctors, nurses and allied healthcare professionals – providing an ‘on demand’ workforce solution to cope with peaks and troughs in staffing demand.
This platform is free of charge to both NHS hospitals and staff during the pandemic, helping meet service demands whilst protecting the needs of our NHS people.

The five main advantages of our Staff Bank:

1. Advanced Technology

Technology is at the centre of most people’s lives; in fact, the average UK person checks their smartphone on average every 12 minutes! This dependency on technology has changed the way we all work; and this is also true of healthcare professionals.
Research reveals it’s essential for hospitals to leverage mobile technology both to aid staff engagement and to deliver a more responsive workforce matching the supply of staff to unfilled demand. With this in mind, our digital solution helps healthcare staff have the ability to view their roster via the Staff Bank and to request changes or book available bank shifts – all from the comfort of their own home and from their mobile device.
This solution integrates their work into their normal daily life whilst providing a healthier work-life balance and improving patient safety.

2. Flexibility

A recent NHS Staff Survey revealed that 48% of staff still feel they ‘do not have the opportunity to work flexibly’. Our digital Staff Bank is self-rostering, so our healthcare professionals will receive greater flexibility and provide them with the essential opportunity to rest – essential whilst fighting on the frontline against the Covid 19 virus.
NHS workers are then empowered to quickly respond to changes in service demand, allowing them to decide when, where or how they work.
 

Our award-winning Digital Staff Bank and Covid Tracker now comes with free open access for all NHS trusts that need it. To find out more, just hit the link below.

3. Better work-life balance

“Leadership, motivating staff and creating a culture where people are empowered to do things differently are crucial to the success of any organisation” Sir Stuart Rose, Department of Health (2014).
For healthcare staff, an electronic Staff Bank lies at the heart of achieving a successful work-life balance and it is where empowerment begins. The NHS Long Term plan has acknowledged that often an inflexible rota can make it difficult for staff to balance their work and personal life commitments.
We believe that work-life balance is affected by three core elements: variability of the roster, number of staff on the roster and how far in advance staff are notified about their shifts.
For most, the lack of flexibility is not the problem but instead the lack of variability – something over which they have no control. In 2018, Timewise reported that 80% of healthcare professionals who work for an agency do so because it gives them more control over their shifts.
So, our Staff Bank allows NHS frontline workers to choose their extra shifts when they feel rested, recuperated and happy to do so. Remember, NHS staff must care for themselves before they care for the lives of others – a critical factor often overlooked by more traditional bank solutions.

4. Training and Development

Modern health and patient care is complex. They both require a range of staff from a diverse background of clinical disciplines to work together in a variety of care settings across a patient or service user pathway. This is why we believe learning and development at all stages of a career are essential.
For staff to learn, study and develop their skillset, they’ll need the flexibility and work-life balance to do so. Whilst some of NHS workers are on training days, studying for Royal College exams or training junior doctors for example, NHS hospitals can rely on our Staff Bank to fill the rota gap with a strong workforce through expertise and experience. In the meantime, healthcare workers can use our technology to pick up extra shifts around their studies.

5. Safety

One of the features of our new digital platform is the Covid 19 workforce tracker. It allows healthcare professionals to track their health status if they fall ill to Covid 19; whether they’re self-isolating, their isolation timeline and helping maintain vital contact with their hospital via an instant messaging feature.
This technology is crucial during a pandemic for two reasons: The first is to ensure patient safety is not put at risk and second, the ability to allow staff to take the necessary time off to recover, rest and recuperate. It also allows staff to stay connected with their department; sharing experiences, feelings and emotions during such a difficult time – emphasising the need of collaboration.
 

If you are an NHS trust interested us supporting your road to recovery we can help you with:

• Bespoke insourcing services across all specialities for both elective care and outpatient services, including virtual consultations
• Adhoc and long term capacity to supply locums across all areas of doctors, nursing and AHP’s

In the last 12-months, we have treated over 13,000 patients and IDMCS are immensely proud of our overall 97% patient satisfaction feedback score.
Want to know more? We’d be delighted to speak with you – just give us a call on 01908 552 820 and we’ll be happy to help. Alternatively, just hit the link below to learn more.

References
Nhsstaffsurveys.com. 2020. [online] Available at: <https://www.nhsstaffsurveys.com/Caches/Files/P3088_ST17_National%20briefing_v5.0.pdf> [Accessed 23 April 2020].