Somerset, UK – Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has introduced a range of digital workforce tools to give clinicians more control over their schedule, reduce reliance on costly third-party agencies and boost staff retention. The Trust joins nearby Royal United Hospitals Bath and Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in adopting technology from Patchwork Health, an organisation led by NHS clinicians building workforce solutions for healthcare.
The move sees Somerset NHS Foundation Trust implement three new solutions to improve its approach to workforce management and increase job satisfaction among clinicians:
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A fully integrated rostering platform designed to offer greater workforce visibility and enable efficient, data-driven staffing
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A digital staff bank which allows approved NHS clinicians to pick up vacant shifts and work flexibly across each of the Trust’s sites
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A first-of-its-kind agency management platform that ensures managers can source qualified additional staff cost-efficiently when a substantive or bank worker is not available
Developed by a clinician-led team, Patchwork Health’s solutions have saved NHS Trusts across the UK more than £180 million in workforce costs and supported over 120,000 healthcare staff nationwide to access improved workforce tools.
NHS Trusts across the country are currently battling against ongoing staffing pressures, whilst facing pressure from government to cut their use of temporary agency workers to cover frontline gaps.
The new rostering platform at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust will enable at least 1,250 full-time medics across the region to view their rotas, make annual leave requests, and book shifts easily via a single app, giving them greater control over their own working patterns.
Meanwhile, managers can view all permanent and non-permanent staff on one single roster – as well as any vacancies – allowing them to take a dynamic, data-driven approach to workforce management. This is enabling teams to deploy staff more flexibly, reducing unfilled shifts and driving down reliance on agency workers.
The digital staff bank offers a marketplace-style platform for managers at the Trust to broadcast vacant shifts to its pool of approved temporary workers, while doctors are able to pick up extra hours and work flexibly across any of the Trust’s sites. Since launching in January, the Trust has already seen over 1,400 clinicians sign up to join the digital bank.
While these solutions are designed to reduce Somerset NHS Foundation Trust’s reliance on third-party agency workers, the fluctuating nature of service demand means there will still be some shifts which require extra support to supplement the pool of approved workers in the digital bank. By implementing Patchwork Agency Manager, teams at the Trust can now source clinicians from a wider network of approved agencies when needed, allowing them to ensure that wards are safely staffed in the most cost-effective manner.
The adoption of these tools will complement the trust’s existing use of Job Planning and Appraisals
Noella Rowton, Associate Director for Medical Workforce Strategic Development, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, comments:
“It’s fantastic to be deepening our collaboration with Patchwork, which we hope will deliver a truly end-to-end suite of digital tools for our managers and staff. We’ve seen an enormous positive impact since adopting Patchwork’s Job Planning and Appraisals tools over the last couple of years, so it felt like the natural next step to complete the set with Rota, Bank and Agency Manager.
“By adopting these new tools, we’re demonstrating our commitment to give clinicians the support and flexibility they deserve. And with the increasing focus on reducing agency spend and driving efficiencies in temporary staffing, Patchwork’s solutions should help managers across the Trust secure key financial savings, while maintaining safe, effective service delivery.”
Dr Anas Nader, Co-Founder and CEO at Patchwork Health comments:
“We’re excited to be expanding our partnership with Somerset NHS Foundation Trust to deliver more flexible, sustainable staffing through our Rota, Bank and Agency Manager tools. Adopting solutions like these is crucial to improving wellbeing among clinicians and boosting staff retention rates. Our technology is also helping the Trust’s management teams to ensure they can service patient demand as safely and cost-effectively as possible, against the backdrop of ever-increasing workforce pressures and demands to cut costs.
“We’re committed to proving that flexibility and productivity are not mutually exclusive in healthcare. The best way we can do this is by working collaboratively with colleagues inside NHS Trusts to design and implement solutions that address the major staffing challenges they face on the ground. It’s great to see the Trust continue to work with us on this mission.”
Along with the existing job planning and appraisal tools, the agency management and staff bank solutions are now live across all medic and allied health professional staff groups at all grades, across the entirety of Somerset NHS Foundation Trust.
