Digital staff bank transforms workforce management through flexible working

Background

With a desire to improve trainee experience and provide flexible working opportunities, St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust sought a new tool for workforce planning.

Situation

Lead Employer for the North West, St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust wanted to develop a system that would empower staff to quickly and easily pick up shifts across the region. This would help to reduce the number of gaps that would need to be filled by costly agency workers.

The main aims were to:

• Improve trainee experience and provide flexible working opportunities for doctors in training as part of the national Doctors in Training e-learning programme;
• Increase shift fill rates and reduce agency spend by providing shared access to a large pool of staff; and
• Reduce the burden of admin on managerial staff with a digital and fully interoperable solution.

Aspiration

Create a digital staff bank to transform workforce management across the region.

Solution and impact

St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and collaborative partner Trusts worked with Patchwork Health in the creation of the North West Collaborative Bank (NWCB).

NWCB provides a user friendly staffing solution by offering:

• The Patchwork Health app for easy access to the system.
• A bespoke system that is adaptable and tailored to meet the unique requirements of Doctors in Training and the NWCB, enabling doctors to book shifts outside their host Trust.
• The option for Doctors in Training to access their host Trust’s internal bank with ease, and pick up both local and regional shifts across a range of departments and specialities.
• The transfer of shifts between each Trust’s e-roster system, the Trust’s local bank and the regional Doctors In Training bank.
• A centralised online system that handles pay, annual leave entitlements, and hours worked.
• Automation of tasks resulting in a reduction of time spent on administration.

Within the first year NWCB reported that it has helped to:

• Retain £3.4 million of staffing costs within the NHS.
• Fill more than 33,000 hours of shifts.
• Enable over 5,500 clinicians to work shifts across 18 Trusts.
• Ensure fluctuating patient demand is consistently and reliably met with a safety net of workers.
• Enable 95% of trainees to be accepted onto the bank in just 72 hours.

Functionality

NWCB:

• Is accessed via a mobile app.
• Provides 24 hour support to stakeholders and clinicians using the app.
• Features real-time dashboards.
• Provides KPI reports from Patchwork’s Client Partnerships team.
• Includes a live analytics platform (Patchwork Insights).

Capabilities

• Promotes worker flexibility.
• Provides clinicians with a choice in how they work shifts and are paid.
• Relieves the pressure of admin intensive tasks with an intelligent digital staff bank service.

Scope of capacity

This system could be used in any setting in which bank staff are commonly employed.

Within 6 months, 18 partner trusts across the North West had joined the collaborative bank.

The collaborative bank has already been rolled out to several London Trusts.

Key learning points

The development of a Memorandum of Understanding between all participating trusts, detailing what was within the scope of the project and what was out of scope was key. This required regular review post implementation as part of ongoing stakeholder meetings.

A strong engagement plan was also crucial, which focused on the host placement providers as well as the Doctors in Training using the technology, with weekly organisation and supplier project management reviews during implementation. This ensured the project was being delivered against the agreed scope, objectives, timescales and experiential benefits.

Digital equalities

A high level of training for both organisations and clinicians utilising the Patchwork app is provided. Clinicians are then onboarded to both a mobile app and a desktop view, providing two points of access based on personal preference.

On site and remote training sessions are provided with further training also provided during rotational periods.

In addition, the Lead Employer and Patchwork Customer Care teams both provide phone and email support for Doctors in Training who may need further assistance.

Key figures/ quotes

Users of the system said:

Malise Szpakowska, Assistant Director of Human Resources at STHK Lead Employer: 

Chloe Foo, North West Collaborative Bank Manager, comments on the value the NWCB has brought to the region:

Find out more

https://leademployer.sthk.nhs.uk/north-west-collaborative-bank

Key contact

Laura Codling, Assistant Director of Workforce Development & Resourcing,
St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
laura.codling@sthk.nhs.uk

Omar Bhakri, Chief of Staff, Patchwork Health
omar@patchwork.health

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Page last updated: October 2022