The Digital Collaborative Bank: How workforce mobility is increasing efficiency
The Digital Collaborative Bank (DCB) is the biggest workforce coalition of NHS Trusts in the country. It involves 6,000 doctors working collaboratively across 10 NHS Trusts, providing care for a catchment area of over 5.5 million patients.
It is an increasing challenge to fill vacant shifts in order to meet the growing demand NHS services now face. As well as catching up on the elective care backlog with NHS demands at an all-time high, NHS services must maintain high-quality patient care standards and, most notably, support the well-being of those that care for us most.
In this article, we share how The Digital Collaborative Bank, powered by Locum’s Nest, enabled 10 NHS Trusts to fill more vacant shifts, which contributed to positive outcomes in a challenging year. This highlights how the use of workforce technology with collaboration allows Trusts to share a more expansive and forever growing pool of workers. The below emphasises how a collaborative NHS workforce effort is leading the way to removing practical barriers to workforce challenges sustainably.
Working collaboratively vs working in silos during the third national lockdown
On 6th January 2021, the UK was placed back into lockdown - the third of its kind - and non-essential activities were eased back into opening on 12th April 2021. This time period was of significant stress to the NHS workforce with many staff off work because of Covid-19 and the self-isolation rules imposed by the government. Despite these obstacles, NHS Trusts working together via The Digital Collaborative Bank to share resources, positively impacted departments by bringing in more clinicians.
During this time, the DCB had, on average, an 8% higher shift fill rate (percentage of vacant shifts covered by clinicians) in comparison to Trusts operating in silos. This percentage in shift fill rate is higher because the DCB ensures a greater pool of workers available to complete a shift. However, as collaboration increases, the technology behind it must enhance the benefits for both the clinicians (the mobile app users) and rota coordinators and HR teams (the web app users). The Locum’s Nest Digital Passport, which was specifically designed to facilitate speedy onboarding, did just that by eliminating the duplication of paperwork and removing practical barriers to staff moving between NHS organisations. This allowed freedom of movement for clinicians whilst mitigating risks, meaning that any clinician returning to the frontline using the Locum’s Nest mobile app had the choice to join any of our partner hospitals’ contingent workforce.
Through information held by the Digital Passport, such as compliance and GMC record, hospitals can enrol clinicians from neighbouring NHS organisations without a long lead time. This is made easily visible for HR teams and rota managers as a unique verification link, ensuring that HR compliance checks are completed instantly and allowing clinicians to join the staff bank quickly and without delay - reducing admin time and associated costs, whilst boosting shift fill rates.
Linked with shift fill rate is the mobile app design, which increases the chances of doctors applying for vacancies by empowering them to take shifts when and where they want. As with any app, making the experience efficient and simple is important. This would not be possible without a gold-standard mobile app design setting the foundation for a high-quality and inclusive experience for the users. In the latest episode of our ‘Designing for HealthTech’ video series, we share how microinteractions (small, reactive features that embellish a product’s offering) heighten engagement between clinicians and HR teams and rota managers. Microinteractions further engage the user by appealing to their emotional response. This creates a fun and simple experience for our mobile app users, making them more likely to apply to the variety of shifts available within the DCB.
The ‘stealing our staff’ stereotype… crushed
The Digital Collaborative Bank clearly demonstrates boosting shift fill rates. However, there is a sense of unease amongst NHS leaders that working collaboratively creates a risk of “losing” clinicians to other NHS organisations. Since launching the DCB in February 2017, we put this perceived risk to a test. We are now in a position to prove that, in fact, clinicians do not tend to leave their parent organisations (the primary staff bank) and how all Trusts actually benefit by sharing their workforce.
Across 2021, 413 shifts were completed at Ashford and St Peter’s NHS FT from clinicians registered at The Royal Surrey NHS FT as their parent organisation. This is a 30% increase compared to 2020. Clinicians flowed the other way too, to support The Royal Surrey NHS FT, as 538 shifts were covered by clinicians from the parent organisation of Ashford and St Peter’s NHS FT. This commitment to collaboration helps build trust, crucial with the level of uncertainty NHS organisations and their staff are facing, whilst enabling more flexibility for NHS clinicians. Collaborative efforts also enhance flexibility for clinicians. This is of increased importance for NHS Trusts as the 2021 NHS Staff Survey stresses a 3% reduction in satisfaction with the overall opportunities NHS staff feel they have for flexible working patterns.
At a top-line level, there was a 33% increase in shifts applied to and completed across the DCB, from 2020 to 2021, rising to nearly 80,000 shifts. On top of being a true testament to the clinicians’ willingness and appetite to support the National Health Service, this also highlights how collaboration and relationship growth between stakeholders of NHS organisations can benefit all organisations involved.
The pandemic has encouraged more NHS Trusts to shift from competition to collaboration. Organisations that join a collaborative staff bank clearly see their own staff members increase the number of shifts completed within their parent organisation. With a collaborative approach, there is a reduction in perceived pressure placed on staff to fill vacancies at their own NHS Trust. Instead, it places more power on individual staff members to take ownership of their work-life balance. Finally, clinicians can apply for the shifts they want to cover, at an NHS Trust they want to work a specific shift at. This is because the technology behind the Locum’s Nest mobile app provides doctors with an advanced online platform to access shifts at all participating Trusts. In addition, Trusts benefit by being able to deliver further patient care hours with clinicians who have made an active choice in their working patterns.
Referring to the NHS 2021 Staff Survey, the percentage of staff looking forward to going to work reduced by 6% compared to 2020, with the greatest downfalls coming from Medical and Dental staff. If more clinicians were given more power over their work-life balance through a greater pool of available shifts as part of an open digital collaborative staff bank, this would contribute to stronger morale and improved work wellbeing. This is supported by the public’s perception of NHS priorities, where increasing the number of staff in the NHS ranks inside the top 3 priorities.
Most importantly, by working collaboratively, more patients can receive the care they require. Amid growing pressures on the NHS workforce, working collaboratively and transparently with other Trusts is a sustainable way to unite the NHS - one NHS, one staff bank!
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If you would like to know how you can create a collaborative staff bank with the support of Locum’s Nest award-winning technology, please get in touch with our Co-Founder, Dr Ahmed Shahrabani at ahmed@locumsnest.co.uk.