A note to Health and Social Care members

We’re all hoping that the pandemic is on the way out now. And with it, we can reflect the heroic role played by workers in the health and social care sector. In no small measure – as I argued in my BMJ column last autumn – agencies have been at the heart of this, really delivering for the country when times were toughest.

I know from talking to many of you that it has been a mixed time - where weeks and months could alternate between being swamped by requests, to having no work on at all as assignments (apart from those on Covid wards) were cancelled.

I wanted to write now to update you on our work recently, and on what happens next, as we seize the moment to make the case for what you deliver to the NHS and the care system. We’ll use the great work of the REC’s Recruitment for Recovery campaign - launched in February - to root our arguments for sustainable and fair procurement models in the positive impact this will have for patients and taxpayers. 

Campaign update – from first lockdown to what’s next

From the first lockdown, we were in contact with Minister Helen Whately MP, who called on us and the entire recruitment sector to work in constructive partnership with the NHS.  We have been in very regular communication with the Department of Health & Social Care, plus the relevant government agencies, ever since.  

A win on vaccines

It was this partnership that led to DHSC accepting our advice that health and care agency workers must be offered the vaccine at the same time as substantive staff.  We worked quickly to make the case before Christmas 2020 just as plans for the vaccine rollout began, and could report by 7 January that DHSC had agreed to our proposal.

Financial recognition for all staff

Our next battle is to get the Welsh Government to extend its reward scheme to agency workers in the NHS, so that the agency model is not disadvantaged. There was a very successful campaign to this effect in Scotland, for some workers – though the battle goes on for others.

Partnership working on frameworks

We also sought to work with framework providers on your behalf during this time - to secure extensions to tender deadlines at very busy times, increases to price evaluation, and updated annualised figures for transaction fees and transfer fees.  Framework providers have continued to attend our Health & Social Care meetings to present updates - but with the pandemic behind us, now is the time to have the more challenging strategic discussions we all know are necessary.

Representing perm recruiters in the sector

We have also held two roundtables with DHSC on perm recruitment; at one, the Department could present and take feedback from members on the updated Code of Practice for Ethical Recruitment for overseas nurses. It was great to see how they had listened to our call to broaden the list of countries for recruitment and had taken time to understand the value of working in partnership with the recruitment sector. We’re currently talking to DHSC about whether international doctors can be allowed to quarantine in hospital accommodation, just as nurses are allowed - avoiding the costs of expensive quarantine hotels.  If you'd like to attend our next perm recruitment roundtable, please email policy@rec.uk.com

Addressing the big issue of sustainable agency rates and fair treatment vs banks

But on the temp side, there is no getting away from the fact that there has been no bandwidth in Government for the discussion that really needs to happen – more sustainable rates on agency frameworks, while also addressing what appears to be an unlevel playing field between banks and agencies.  That needs to change now, as the pandemic abates.

We haven’t let this lie over the last few months - on monthly calls with NHS Improvement on this issue, we have pushed a relatively simple request - where are the quarterly reports that would provide clear evidence of charge rates?  We’ve also asked they reinstall the online wage calculator that many of you found so helpful.  There is an appetite to do both from NHSI - but the lack of action has been put down to how busy they and the entire NHS are right now.

When we didn't get very far with our meetings, last year we submitted a whole series of Freedom of Information requests - asking a selection of Trusts to tell us their comparative bank and agency spends.  Most replied.  The responses were not definitive enough – yet – to stack up a story that bank rates were higher, which is what NHSI also told us. But they do show that agency is in the same ballpark – and we all have examples of where bank has cost more, and so we will not give up asking for parity of treatment.  There are too many instances where we hear of an agency nurse or doctor being invited to switch to a bank with the promise of better pay.  On 27 April this year, the MP Justin Madders asked a Parliamentary Question in the Commons:

Justin Madders (Ellesmere Port and Neston): To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total cost to the NHS was of using (a) agency staff and (b) bank staff (i) for each quarter and (ii) in total for 2020-21. [180545]

Helen Whately (Faversham and Mid Kent): “The following table shows expenditure on agency and bank staff in National Health Service trusts for the first three quarters of the financial year 2020-21. Data for Quarter 4 will be available at the end of April 2021, therefore the total cost for 2020-21 is not yet available.”

This is the basis for us to continue to call for parity, and we will use the platforms we have at upcoming events (see below) to be your voice. We will also seek opportunities for thought leadership articles in the press; we have a good record on this already, such as my piece for HSJ last year. NHSI have confirmed to us that there is a great need for agencies in the sector, so remain keen to work in partnership. But for this to happen, we need a change in behaviour from them.

As part of this, we have spent several months supporting a healthcare workforce review being prepared by Laing and Buisson. This will launch on 9 June, and we will use this as the next stage in our campaign to highlight the value of agency workers and the need for sustainability for our market. The NHS will need to develop a new approach to workforce planning after the pandemic – we’ll be arguing that this is the time to be addressing key issues like rates on the frameworks that are now unrealistic.

 Upcoming events

On 9 June, I will be joining Suhail Mirza to make our case at the launch of the UK Healthcare Workforce & Recruitment Report Launch. Book here.

On 22 June, Kate Shoesmith will be taking our case to the care sector, speaking at the Future of Care conference at the King's Fund.

In early July, we are hosting a roundtable with NHS Employers to discuss workforce planning and the contribution of the recruitment industry, again leveraging the research our Recruitment for Recovery campaign produced.  Places will be strictly limited, so if you would like to attend, please contact policy@rec.uk.com 

REC news – new support for the sector

After five years with the REC, Neal Suchak has recently moved on to take up a new role. We wish him every success in his future career.  Yerin Seo will be joining the REC in June and we will introduce her to you all in due course.  In the meantime, I am available, alongside Kate Shoesmith and Bunmi Adefuye, both of whom many of you know, to support our members in this sector.