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.