Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire (SWaG) Collaborative Staff Bank driving flexible working within the NHS

The Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire (SWaG) Collaborative Staff Bank was born as a joint grassroots venture led by various NHS Trusts and aims to improve and support the way the NHS operates in the surrounding region. By coming together to share staff and services, the participating Trusts are able to provide more comprehensive coverage for their patients as well as improved continuity of care, maximising the strength of their collective staff pools. Since launching in November 2022, the SWaG Collaborative Bank has been growing with its initial NHS pioneers: 

1. Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

2. Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

3. North Bristol NHS Trust

4. University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust

5. Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust

The drive to grow a staff collaborative bank, regardless of speciality, is built on the participating NHS Trusts’ vision to improve patient care while improving the wellbeing and careers of its workforce. We know it is an increasing challenge to fill vacant shifts in order to meet the growing demand of NHS services and catch up on the elective care backlog; however, supporting the well-being of those that care for us most is always a priority. Powered by Locum’s Nest workforce solutions and expertise, SWaG Trusts are able to fill more vacant shifts, contributing to positive outcomes in a challenging time. This highlights how the use of workforce technology and collaborative workstreams allows NHS organisations to share a more expansive and forever growing pool of workers. 

Early Impact:

In a little over a month since the collaborative launched in November 2022 (Nov 22 - Dec 2022):

• Over 2k shifts digitally posted 

• Staff bank grew by 33% with an 8% rise in shift fill rate

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS FT, one of the current SWaG members, has a particularly special story as it is also part of the Digital Collaborative Bank (DCB), the biggest workforce coalition of NHS Trusts in the country. The DCB involves over 6.5k doctors working collaboratively across 9 NHS Trusts, providing care for a catchment area of over 5.5 million patients. Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS FT witnessed the benefits of being a part of the DCB and were keen on the opportunity to further collaborate with other NHS Trusts in their surrounding area, increasing their access to healthcare professionals even more. Since joining the two collaborative banks, healthcare professionals from Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS FT have worked over 600 collaborative shifts in other Trusts!

Looking ahead at the future of collaborative staff banks: 

Beyond enabling healthcare professionals to cross-cover shifts across multiple NHS Trusts - exponentially expanding the size of individual Trust’s staff pool, and ultimately delivering more patient care hours, SWaG provides other overarching benefits such as:

1. Cost-effectiveness:  Collaborative staff banks enable NHS organisations to draw upon a larger and more diverse pool of healthcare professionals, enabling them to fill vacancies faster and at lower cost. Beyond improved staffing efficiency and self-management, this helps reduce agency costs significantly. 

2. Improved quality of care: Having access to a larger pool of healthcare professionals, better resource planning and therefore a consistent higher shift fill rate translates to the availability of more doctors per patient, which not only lowers waiting time as more patients could be seen faster, but also improves patient safety and ensures better quality of care. In addition, the successful creation of a collaborative staff bank and a high shift fill rate enables trusts to deliver better continuity of care for patients. 

3. Increased flexibility: The visibility of available shifts offers more flexible working options to a huge pool of healthcare professionals. This is key at a time where levels of medical burnout, and the repercussions of unhappy staff, are at their highest. This non-rigid, flexible working nature of  collaborative staff banks further empowers healthcare professionals to take back control of their work-life balance and overcome the waitlist backlog without piling pressure on their workload. 

4. Professional development: Providing a unique opportunity for staff and healthcare professionals to develop their skills and experience. This can include taking on new roles and responsibilities, or gaining experience in different hospitals or departments. 

5. Improved morale and retention: The flexibility and cost-effectiveness of collaborative staff banks can improve job satisfaction and provide both staff and healthcare professionals with the opportunity to expand their skills and knowledge. By working together, staff and healthcare professionals in collaborative staff banks can build strong relationships, share ideas and learn from each other. This can help to foster an environment of collaboration and mutual respect. Furthermore, by being able to access a larger pool of healthcare professionals, NHS organisations can recruit the most suitable staff for the job, leading to improved staff retention and job satisfaction. 

By adopting an open collaborative model, the group of trusts involved in SWaG have been able to digitise their processes and allow for better planning, with the required administrative tasks being quicker, automated and more transparent. If every trust started working together, significant savings in streamlining HR and finance payroll processes could take place.

Furthermore, our data shows that  for 1 extra shift a healthcare professional works collaboratively, they work an additional 3 at their own trust. In addition, trusts working collaboratively have a fill rate of 5-10 per cent higher than an average trust working independently. Therefore, the SWaG Staff Bank is an example of how collaboration can be used to improve patient care and health service delivery, and is a testament to the power of working together. 

With our common vision of breaking down employment barriers for healthcare professionals covering shifts in NHS organisations, our partner NHS Trusts aim to offer our communities the best possible care by ensuring every patient sees the right doctor at the right time. The Locum's Nest team look forward to continuing working with NHS partner Trusts, part of the SWaG and other collaborative staff banks, and supporting them in their growth!

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Are you interested in joining the SWaG collaborative bank and/or building a collaborative bank?  Book a call with the team here or email meena@locumsnest.co.uk.