Bridging the Gap for NHS Direct


Healthcare organisations throughout the UK rely on temporary staff to manage the peaks and troughs of demand. In most cases they create a list of suppliers that meet certain criteria. The suppliers who meet these criteria (the preferred supplier, framework supplier) are often able to fulfill requests given with a long lead time, that are regular placements and the staff required have a standard skill set. In the main these suppliers meet the demand, however when it comes to staff with specialist skill sets, unplanned increases in admissions or urgently needing to open extra capacity, these preferred suppliers are often unable to meet this demand. Many organisations just live with this, not knowing that there is a solution in these circumstances.

NHS Direct found themselves in this situation, requiring extra capacity from temporary staff. Over 10 sites required additional staffing due to operational restructuring and the Department of Health’s support of NHS preparedness, to reduce the impact of pandemic flu on the UK population. Their planning identified a shortfall of over 100 FTE nurses nationally which their preferred suppliers were unable to fully deliver. NHS Direct knew that there was an option for them to explore. They needed a specialist supplier, with the resources, coverage and capacity to solve this problem and knew to ring ICS for assistance.

NHS Direct discussed with us a number of options for bridging the gap between what the preferred suppliers could fill and what they needed. To date we have supplied over 70 FTE nurses for the 1st wave with over 30 FTE available to the 2nd wave. Additionally the lead time was tight. NHS Direct had organised training with their other providers at the sites involved and we had to work to this, not meeting their deadline was not an option. ICS had less than 7 days to identify the staff and ensure they all arrived briefed and on time, to the 7 sites from Newcastle to Beckenham in South London.

Getting off on the right foot with NHS Direct, giving them strong customer service from the call centre team and local support from our Regional Managers has ensured the ramp up of staff complimented their operational plans.