“Digital staff bank” aims to tackle NHS staff crisis
As featured in Health Tech World
As the NHS faces a significant workforce crisis, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is rolling out a new ‘digital staff bank’ to unlock access to flexible working and boost staff retention.
Data shows that half of current NHS staff contemplating leaving their roles and stress cited as a major contributor – a new ‘digital staff bank’ has been launched across King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
Launched by workforce experts Patchwork Health, the partnership aims to provide staff Trust-wide with greater flexibility and support, and improve continuity of care for patients.
Using the digital staff bank, the Trust will be able to broadcast available shifts to their own network of temporary workers who can choose when and where they work in line with their personal and professional commitments.
The bank will also:
- Allow approved clinicians to easily and safely request their preferred shifts via an app.
- Enable rota managers to approve shift requests, handle payments and monitor staffing levels through a connected dashboard.
- Provide managers with access to extensive real-time data, helping them to predict when and where extra staff will be needed in line with demand.
The aim is to ensure safe staffing levels are maintained and enable hospitals to deploy staff in line with patient need.
More flexibility for clinicians
Clinicians will gain greater flexibility over when and where they work, helping to support wellbeing, improve work-life balance and further reduce the risk of burnout.
Organisations using Patchwork’s end-to-end solution can see 90%+ shift fill rates for temporary shifts.
They have also saved the NHS tens of millions of pounds to date, thanks to the increased network of available clinicians and subsequent reduction in reliance on locum agencies that the tech-enabled solution facilitates.
Over 3000 doctors within the Trust can already join the digital staff bank, with all other staff groups gaining access over the coming months.
“Game changing initiative”
Dr Anas Nader, CEO and co-founder of Patchwork Health, said: “It’s a privilege to be working in partnership with King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to deliver a game-changing staffing initiative through their new digital staff bank.
“The benefits for all staff across the Trust are manifold; flexible working not only improves individual clinician wellbeing, but reduces unnecessary admin time for managers and ushers in a more sustainable way of staffing our wards.
“We are committed to working closely with our healthcare partners to design and deliver staffing solutions that truly meet the needs of their unique workforces.
“Our aim is to help as many healthcare staff as possible to access flexible, sustainable working that helps reduce pressure on services and supports them to remain in the careers they love. We’re looking forward to continuing our work with King’s and other healthcare organisations across the UK and beyond.”
Patchwork Health is working with over 100 healthcare sites across the UK, including Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.