Healthcare organisations throughout the UK rely on temporary staff to manage the peaks and troughs of demand. In most cases they create a list of suppliers that meet certain criteria. The suppliers who meet these criteria (the preferred supplier, framework supplier) are often able to fulfill requests given with a long lead time, that are regular placements and the staff required have a standard skill set. In the main these suppliers meet the demand, however when it comes to staff with specialist skill sets, unplanned increases in admissions or urgently needing to open extra capacity, these preferred suppliers are often unable to meet this demand. Many organisations just live with this, not knowing that there is a solution in these circumstances.
NHS Direct found themselves in this situation, requiring extra capacity from temporary staff. Over 10 sites required additional staffing due to operational restructuring and the Department of Health’s support of NHS preparedness, to reduce the impact of pandemic flu on the UK population. Their planning identified a shortfall of over 100 FTE nurses nationally which their preferred suppliers were unable to fully deliver. NHS Direct knew that there was an option for them to explore. They needed a specialist supplier, with the resources, coverage and capacity to solve this problem and knew to ring ICS for assistance.
NHS Direct discussed with us a number of options for bridging the gap between what the preferred suppliers could fill and what they needed. To date we have supplied over 70 FTE nurses for the 1st wave with over 30 FTE available to the 2nd wave. Additionally the lead time was tight. NHS Direct had organised training with their other providers at the sites involved and we had to work to this, not meeting their deadline was not an option. ICS had less than 7 days to identify the staff and ensure they all arrived briefed and on time, to the 7 sites from Newcastle to Beckenham in South London.
Getting off on the right foot with NHS Direct, giving them strong customer service from the call centre team and local support from our Regional Managers has ensured the ramp up of staff complimented their operational plans.
What do you do when the influx of patient admissions and staff sickness during the winter exceeds your operational capacity? Turning patients away or closing beds is often considered which could compromise the patient experience. And according to the Royal College of Nurses 4 out of 10 nurses say staff shortages already compromise patient care at least once a week.
An RCN manifesto to all the political parties says NHS employers must assure themselves they have safe staff levels. The RCN has issued its 2009 Employment Survey which covers the views of 9,000 nurses. It shows that more than half (55%) say they are too busy to provide the level of care they would like. Almost two thirds (67%) consider their workload is too heavy. And nurses say they are looking after more patients on the wards.
Dr Peter Carter, head of the RCN, said staff were concerned that they were delivering the basics but were unable to provide the full range of quality care they would like. He said: "Nurses and healthcare assistants feel up against it, worn down and exhausted by the pressure to make efficiencies and frustrated by being prevented from delivering the quality of care they want to be providing." Dr Carter said: "The nursing workforce has grown in recent years but only just enough to keep up with rising demands on healthcare. We expect the next few years will be the most challenging for staff levels in decades. There is considerable pressure to cut staff numbers without taking patient needs into consideration. Policy makers must look at the workforce in conjunction with their ability to deliver high quality and safe care."
Karen Charman, head of employment services at NHS Employers which represents trusts in England, said NHS organisations certainly needed to have a clear method of working out safe staffing levels in order that patient care was not harmed. "There are a number of different ways of achieving this and we believe that this should be determined at local level," she said. "Advice from professional bodies is extremely important to help trusts ensure that clinical standards and staffing levels are right to ensure the safety of patients. However, fixed staffing ratios do not provide the flexibility to meet differing local circumstances and care settings. Employers are increasingly examining the different roles within their workforce to best use the skills of their staff."
As we approach the winter period staffing pressure will undoubtedly increase and we are receiving enquiries from across the UK, from NHS managers looking at different options available to them when they are in this situation. They want to keep beds open, continue admitting patients and open a ward, giving extra beds and capacity to deliver high quality and safe care but don’t have the resources available. ICS are in the unique position to help these trusts this winter by providing different options. These could be adhoc staff or a dedicated team of healthcare professionals, whether that’s to fully staff a ward or backfill areas left short, when trusts examine the different roles within their workforce to best use the skills of their staff where they are needed. We will be supporting many NHS trusts this winter with a flexible and dedicated workforce, which compliments their existing skill sets and helps them deliver high quality and safe care.
The second wave of the flu pandemic is under way with the HPA reporting that rates of flu-like illness and related activity have shown further increases in England, with 27,000 cases this week, up from 18,000 in the previous week. Current figures suggest that so far the virus is spreading more slowly than could have been the case. This is good news and gives added importance to get the vaccine to as many people as possible, as soon as possible. Although the slower spread can be welcomed, the number of people in intensive care as a result of complications from H1N1 is still relatively high and emphasises the public health importance of the vaccine.
With the start of the vaccination programme imminent, it is worth taking a moment to be sure that the that the NHS is at as higher state of readiness as possible as we enter the winter months, and delivering an effective vaccination programme will go a long way to ensuring this.
ICS are working with a number of trusts across the UK to assist them with their immunisation programmes, helping them with nurses to carry out immunisations, provide triage nurses for telephone assessments & advice, distribute Tamiflu/Relenza to ‘Flu Buddies’, aid Practice Nurses and assist school medical centres. All staff are UK based and fully appraised of the DOH ‘Swine Flu’ guidelines. Additionally we screen all nurses for ‘Swine Flu’ prior to every placement and have been doing so since early this year.
If you would like additional time sheets sent out to your home address you can now make this request online.
Click here to go to the ‘Timesheets and Payments’ section of the Nurses’ page.
Fill out the online timesheet request with your name and SNG employee number and your timesheets will be sent out to you.
I am delighted to announce that the Guild is moving its Edinburgh HQ to new premises.
Our new home, from Friday July 27th 2007, will be 160 Dundee Street, Edinburgh. This completely renovated building, the former headquarters of Scottish Brewers, provides brand new, purpose built accommodation which fulfils our requirements for modern office and training facilities.
160 Dundee Street will accommodate all of the Guild’s current activities, and offer greater flexibility for our future. These include:
• State of the art call-centre facility
• Recruitment team for temporary and permanent staff
• Marketing and sales team
• Dedicated on-site IT support
• Improved training and meeting facilities
• Parking for staff and visitors
Our new postal address is:
160 Dundee Street
Edinburgh
EH11 1DQ
Our phone numbers will remain the same:
Call Centre: 0131 229 9988
Recruitment & Training: 0131 229 9388
Fax: 0131 229 6686
I look forward to welcoming you to our new Headquarters, whether you’re dropping off timesheets, attending a training day or stopping by for a chat.
Yours sincerely,
Sara James
(Operations Director)
The Spring 2007 issue of our nursing newsletter called Care Matters is now available to view / download.
Please click the following link for an Adobe PDF version.
Care Matters - Issue 7 (Spring 2007 )
The Scottish Nursing Guild will be exhibiting at the Health Expo’sd 2007 event which is being held in the Edinburgh Corn Exchange on 9th and 10th May.
Health Expo’sd is being heralded as Scotland’s largest Holistic Health and Recruitment Exhibition with a wide range of independent exhibitors from both the Public and Corporate sectors attending.
FREE Seminars, Study Sessions and Taster Sessions will also be hosted at this event.
For more information please CLICK HERE - We look forward to seeing you at Health Expo’sd!
The Spring 2006 issue of our nursing newsletter called Care Matters is now available to view / download.
Please click the following link for an Adobe PDF version.
Care Matters - Issue 6 (Spring 2006 )
The Winter 2005 issue of our nursing newsletter called Care Matters is now available to view / download.
Please click the following link for an Adobe PDF version.
Care Matters - Issue 5 (Winter 2005)
The Summer 2005 issue of our nursing newsletter called Care Matters is now available to view / download.
Please click the following link for an Adobe PDF version.
Care Matters - Issue 4 (Summer 2005)
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