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Southport and Ormskirk
Hospital NHS Trust encourages nursing staff to return to the bank
AS part of NHS Professionals'
nationwide campaign:- 'Love the NHS, Return to the Bank', Southport
and
Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust is encouraging nursing staff to join their local
Trust's bank.
NHS Professionals, in partnership with its client Trusts, is delivering a
nationwide recruitment campaign to encourage Trust workers to join their
in-house bank. The Love the NHS Return to the Bank campaign is currently
running in its client NHS Trusts until mid March. The campaign is designed
to help Trusts reduce their reliance on expensive agencies by filling shifts
through their in house bank in the 1st instance, using agencies as a last
resort. NHS Professionals has seen a significant increase in demand for
temporary staff; the number of nursing hours that 62 trusts requested per
month doubled in three years, from around 650,000 in April 2012 to 1.3
million in April 2015.
NHS Professionals is targeting nursing staff who are substantively employed
by their client Trusts, but would like to work additional hours, to join the
bank. They are also encouraging nursing staff who may have recently left the
Trust if, for example, they have just retired or given up work to have
children, to return to the Trust by working flexibly through the bank.
Nursing staff who work through the bank have the 1st choice of additional
shifts, have complete control over when they work, and are paid weekly.
Stephen Dangerfield, chief executive, NHS Professionals, says:-
"We are delighted that our client Trusts are supporting the Love the NHS,
Return to the Bank campaign. Trusts' in house banks are a vital part of the
NHS, and, used effectively, can help Trusts reduce their reliance on
expensive agencies, maintaining safe staffing levels with a reliable and
constant supply of staff. We acknowledge the hard work and commitment
our bank workers provide to the Trusts we work with, and hope that this
campaign will encourage others to return to the bank."
Angela Kelly, deputy director of nursing, Southport and Ormskirk Hospital
NHS Trust, says:- "Shifts that we can fill through an in house bank is
good for the Trust and best for patients because our staff know them best.
We have also negotiated better bank pay rates that will still save us money
against more expensive agency staff."
Suttinee Foster, care support worker, Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS
Trust, says:- "The reason I joined the bank is for the flexibility. I
like being able to choose my hours and working on a number of different
wards is great for gaining experience and meeting other staff members."
NHS Improvement chief executive, Jim Mackey, and NHS England chief
executive, Simon Stevens, last month announced to the Commons Public
Accounts Committee that the agency bill is predicted to hit £4 billion in
2015-16. On 23 November 2015, hourly rates for all agency staff in the NHS,
including clinical and non-clinical roles, were capped with a view to
bringing them down to 55% above basic pay by April 2016.
NHS Professionals manages temporary staff banks on behalf of around 60 NHS
Trusts across England. It is the largest provider and recruiter of temporary
staff to the NHS, with a bank of over 60,000 workers, who help NHS Trusts to
fill over three million shifts every year.
For more information visit:-
LoveTheNHS.NHSP.UK.
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