Transforming the staff bank at West London NHS Trust, one of the UK’s largest mental health services
Highlights
346% staff bank growth in 3 years
> 90% average staff bank fill rate consistently over a 3 year period
Fewer than 3% of shifts paid at escalated rates in a 9 month period
Shifts booked by bank clinicians up to 8 weeks in advance
Reduced admin burden through digitised and automated processes
Efficient 4-week implementation including product development
The Challenge
West London NHS Trust (WLT) is one of the most diverse UK mental health care providers, treating 100,000+ people annually. Previously, due to the use of paper timesheets and a geographically large spread of sites, the shift booking and sign-off process was complex and lengthy. This resulted in shifts often being filled by agency workers at last minute or at escalated rates.
The Solution
WLT and Patchwork worked collaboratively to identify key pain points in each department, streamline all processes and workflows, and implement Patchwork’s tech-enabled staff bank to create one centralised, digital staff bank function; which could be seamlessly managed by teams across the Trust.
Results
Staff bank growth and increased shift lead time
- 346% staff bank growth in 3 years
- Shifts booked up to 8 weeks in advance
New system functionality
- Mandatory profile photos – as the Trust’s clinicians often work at high-security hospitals that demand this additional security check, Patchwork created this new app feature for WLT.
- Additional documentation checks – to sign up to the staff bank, clinicians must provide a qualification certification (outlined in 1983’s Mental Health Act Section 12). Patchwork configured systems to grant WLT’s staff bank team instant access to this information.
Increased staff bank fill rate
- 90% average staff bank fill rate consistently over a 3 year period
- In the first 3 months alone, 20% increase in average shift fill rate
- In the first 3 months alone, 15% reduction in agency usage
One centralised and digitised staff bank
- Efficient 4-week implementation including new product development
- Fewer than 3% of shifts paid at escalated rates in a 9 month period
Our fill rates speak for themselves with the utilisation of Patchwork. I strongly believe Patchwork has massively assisted within our trust and I can ensure this productivity can be implemented elsewhere.