Patchwork (formerly LocumTap) launches DHSC Flexible Staff Bank Pilots
11th May 2018
Patchwork is delighted to announce the launch of our pilot for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) Flexible Bank Programme in two our partner organisations — Chelsea & Westminster Trust and London North West University Healthcare Trust.
NHS staff at London North West Healthcare NHS Trust and Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust will benefit from a greater freedom to choose which shifts they work, where they work them and quicker pay, as part of a revolutionary trial of new technology.
The trusts will use their pilot, funded by the Department of Health and Social Care, to roll out Patchwork across all departments. An initial trial of Patchwork has proved so popular that both substantive and agency medics have signed up to work flexibly in this way.
A spokesperson from London North West University Hospital NHS Trust said:
“London North West University Hospital NHS Trust is delighted to have been selected as one of the DHSC’s national bank flexible working pilots. Our staff banks are a valued and integral part of our workforce and we continue to invest in their development and growth. The use of the Patchwork Health app will improve the overall experience for staff joining and working with the Trust’s staff bank by making it simpler and easier to join, and enabling staff to better match the shifts they want to work around their availability, preferences and personal life.”
The pilots are also set to bring significant benefits to the hospitals involved — allowing them to significantly reduce their spend on agency staff by encouraging those who may otherwise leave and work for an agency to work as part of the bank instead. Flexible working initiatives are also proven to drive up staff engagement.
Following the conclusion of the trial, a comprehensive evaluation will be undertaken and the most successful elements of the apps will be rolled out across the whole NHS.
These trials are part of a raft of new measures designed to support staff in a modern NHS — including recent expansions in training places for doctors, nurses and midwives, a pay rise for all Agenda for Change staff and a review into how staff are supported to use new technology such as robotics and artificial intelligence.
