Possible ban to be imposed on some agency roles

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting has announced a possible ban on agency use for some roles in the NHS.

This has unsurprisingly caused some concern for those who may be affected, which is thought to be agency staff at entry-level roles; this includes roles such as healthcare assistants and domestic support workers.

Responding to the news, Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) Chief Executive Neil Carberry said, “There is no doubt that the NHS needs reform to be fit-for-purpose. Improving standards of care, efficiency and effectiveness is about a lot more than money. And getting it right will cut waiting lists, improve lives and support the economy. But as any medic would tell the Secretary of State, you fix a problem with the correct diagnosis. And when it comes to staff issues, Streeting has the wrong one.

“Temporary workforce costs in the NHS are largely the wages and compliance costs of staff. That’s why bank staffing is no cheaper than agency, and why the Secretary of State discovered costs didn’t go down when switching to using overtime. The real failure is in long-term planning for supply, and in squeezing lower cost staffing routes via frameworks – which only drives higher cost emergency care over time.”

Neil added, “No ban will solve this – the NHS must meaningfully address the varying needs of staff, who want to work in different ways and many of whom will have been demoralised by the approach taken this morning. We have always said that the Department of Health putting workforce first means getting unions, staffing partners and trusts together to build an approach that attracts and retains a strong core of substantive staff and complements this with a stable and good value approach to temporary staffing.

“This is the diagnosis that is staring NHS England in the face – and has been for years – yet it is being ignored. Let’s change that now, rather than heading off down the same road that has failed so often before.”

“Banning trusts from hiring temporary workers when they need them is a serious mistake and shows a clear misunderstanding of where the real problems are. Agency workers are essential to maintaining safe staffing levels and ensuring services run smoothly.

“These workers provide the flexibility that the NHS desperately needs, and many choose this route because it offers a better work-life balance. Removing this option would only put more strain on an already under-resourced system and make staffing shortages even worse as staff lose patience with poor NHS management.”

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