The Background
The Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust (the Trust) previously managed their internal medical staff bank via a technology-only platform. Although the Trust had seen some initial increases in their bank uptake, they found this had plateaued over time.
This, in conjunction with their Medical People Services department going through a restructure, meant that the Trust required additional resources to support the functions required for an effective medical bank.
With their current contract only able to provide an App and an IT platform, the Trust was seeking support to increase bank uptake and provide assurance regarding the compliance of workers.
The Challenge
The main challenge the Trust experienced was the capacity to maintain and manage a medical bank via an IT platform within their existing resources. This included 24/7 out-of-hours support to manage and complete bookings on an evening and a weekend.
The Trust also needed to put plans in place to look at how they could further increase the bank fill rates to utilise more of their own staff for work and to reduce their reliance on agency staff.
The Solution
The Trust reviewed their options and made the decision to adopt a Managed Staff Bank Solution provided by Agile Workforce Services, procured under the HTE TWS II framework.
Due to the need to implement at speed, the Trust launched the new provision with Agile on 18th July 2022 to capture their existing medical staff at August rotation.
Agile provided lots of stakeholder support and training sessions to the Trust so they could understand the change in the provision and to support with queries around the new service.
- A dedicated team of Bank Coordinators to manage the day-to-day running of the bank
- A 24/7 365 out-of-hours service provided by Agile’s Senior Bank team
- Full marketing plan and materials provided to promote the bank
- Trust branded App launched
- Proactive approach to fulling shifts using Phonecalls, Emails, WhatsApp
- Comprehensive management information provided monthly
- On-boarding and Off-boarding managed by the Agile Team
- Ongoing worker compliance managed by Agile’s team of 30+ compliance officers
- Timesheet and payroll queries handled by Agile
Key aims
- Assurance of a framework-compliant model
- Resource to be able to manage their out-of-hours provision
- Compliance assurance on zero-hours workers
- Provide multiple communication channels for candidates to engage with the bank
- Auto-enrolment of exiting staff to the bank
- Assurance that shifts are being actively worked on
Testimonial
“Before we entered into our contract with Agile the workload associated with the management of our medical bank was too much for the Medical People Services team, and we were only able to provide a limited on-call service. Since we have been in contract with Agile we have received excellent service from the team, who provide dedicated support for all aspects of the bank. We have seen a significant increase in the number of hours booked via by our bank and are assured that all workers who pick up bank shifts are 100% compliant. I would recommend Agile’s bank services to any other Trust who are requiring additional support with their medical bank”
Matthew Dimmock -Head of Medical People Services - The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust
For more information call 01756 860023 or email the team on info@agile-workforce.co.uk
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