NHS Supply Chain and Healthcare Recruitment Post Covid 19

Feb 19, 2015.

UK healthcare recruitment and supply chain management are key issues the NHS must tackle post-covid 19 if it has any hope of resuming ‘business as usual’.

With Covid 19 here for the long term, the National Health Service and its’ hospitals are all now focusing on the return of their normal services; but remaining ready for any potential second wave of infections. However, turn on the television, radio or browse the latest news online and you’re more than likely to see negative reports surrounding the service and how waiting lists are predicted to spiral out of control.

It’s also the case that, at this very moment in time, there’s a growing concern for Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments in particular, with staff experiencing intolerable pressures and ‘burnout’; the situation also being greatly impacted by the ongoing Covid 19 crisis.

A&E departments across the country are busier than ever as a result of rising attendance figures, a lack of confidence in GP out-of-hours care and a closure of some walk-in centres across England. This in turn, leads to missed waiting time targets with a concentrated focus from NHS regulating bodies and the public eye, resulting in the unacceptable outcome of reduced levels of patient care.

Consequently, there has never been a more important time for healthcare recruiter ID Medical to provide innovative, reliable and healthcare recruitment solutions to the NHS and private sectors. Established in 2002, ID Medical holds preferred supplier contracts with over 95% of UK hospitals for the provision of doctors, nurses, AHP/HSS and medical clerical staff and is operating on all major frameworks; Government Procurement Service (GPS), London Procurement Partnership (LPP) and HealthTrust Europe (HTE).

The company supports and nurtures a belief in the value of working within the NHS, embedding the 6Cs (care, compassion, competence, communication, courage and commitment) into its recruitment process, whilst its ‘recruiting for values’ approach ensures that patients will always be put first.

It has always been vital for the NHS to have sufficient resources to meet increasing patient demand and as market leader; ID Medical has a proven track record supporting Trusts in delivering extensive procurement efficiencies through its comprehensive and bespoke workforce solutions, consistently meeting requirements for highly skilled staff.

ID Medical has been recognised for its first-rate capacity to provide a premier level service to its candidates and clients, as signified by its amounting collection of awards. To meet growing demand from NHS trusts and the private sector, ID Medical has needed to expand into new locales, accessing emerging markets requiring specialist medical skills.

ID Medical’s Milton Keynes HQ opened in 2014 to place locums and medical staff into NHS trusts across the UK; plus, its nationwide expertise has enabled its dedicated recruitment team to better serve its candidates wherever they may be – either here in the UK or abroad! Also, the International Division at ID Medical continues to expand to meet the on-going requirements from NHS clients for sourcing talent worldwide, for both temporary and permanent vacancies. This division eases the relocation transition, providing candidates with the support they need to adapt to the working practices of the NHS and every aspect of their healthcare recruitment needs.

ID Medical’s strong reputation also commanded the requirement to expand into the Non-Medical, Non-Clinical (NMNC) market in 2013, with ID Medical Clerical focusing on the provision of medical admin and ward clerks, receptionists, secretaries, PAs, team administrators, project officers, porters and catering staff to the NHS and private sectors. This expansion into the NMNC market highlighted the business’s next step in its growth and development plans, thereby offering trusts a complete and fail proof staffing solution.

The company continues to build awareness of its dedicated speciality teams within its Doctors division, including; A&E, Anaesthetics, Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Consultants, Paediatrics, Medicine, Ophthalmology and Mental Health. The latter division was most recently been awarded sole supplier status for the supply of locum doctors to the Central and North West London (CNWL) NHS Foundation Trust, one of the largest Trusts in the UK caring for people with an extensive range of physical and mental health needs.

Personalised end-to-end recruitment services

The priority for ID Medical is to support the NHS and private sectors with comprehensive staffing solutions that consistently deliver high quality patient care. Its candidates (healthcare professionals) and its clients (NHS Trusts and private healthcare organisations) are not just dealing with a business, but a partner in ID Medical, that can truly offer efficient staffing solutions throughout current testing times whilst instilling positivity and engagement into the NHS’s workforce.

Searching for permanent or temporary personnel can be a time-consuming and costly exercise. ID Medical guarantees a reduction in staffing spend by applying its sector garnered commercial acumen and sourcing the right candidates for unfilled, specialist jobs, in the right place, at the right time.

The company, which operates 24-7, has the highest fill rates in the industry and aligns itself to Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) processes whilst offering proven bespoke transformational models to its partner clients.

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Key benefits of working with a medical recruitment agency

A series of excellent benefits are presented to doctors, nurses, AHP/HSS and clerical staff when affiliating with a medical staffing agency such as ID Medical. Most importantly, this medical recruiter brings its candidates a wide pool of jobs in their preferred locations, in well-respected hospitals, with ideal shift choices to suit their lifestyles.

Candidates are allocated their own dedicated and experienced recruitment consultant to help them throughout the entire job hunting process, plus, ID Medical in particular offers additional benefits, forming a comprehensive recruitment package. These include;

Competitive pay rates
Over 25,000 shifts available per month
Daily pay runs
A team of relationship managers (also referred to as the Road Team) that travel to suitable locations to meet with candidates
Basic Life Support (BLS) courses
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and Continuing Medical Education (CME) support
Revalidation and appraisal support
In-house Clinical Support Team
A lucrative referral scheme

…all of which set the business a mile apart from its competition.

Working together to address NHS healthcare recruitment crisis

Although the results were not conclusive, researchers at Imperial College London found that patients undergoing planned surgery appear more likely to die if they have their operation at the end of the week. NHS medical director Sir Bruce Keogh believed that having more senior staff and consultants around at weekends is fundamental to the NHS shifting from a five-day-week to a seven-day-week.

In addition to this, the NHS is experiencing a chronic shortage of nurses and has over 40,000 nursing posts vacant, ID Medical responds diligently to such investigations, highlighting its flexible working options to candidates and solutions to clients. The ideal outcome is reached when NHS demand is married together with the needs of every candidate.

ID Medical truly understands the pressures within the NHS workforce and the unsustainable workloads that medical professionals are experiencing after spending many years integrated into the Trusts’ operational practices. Its flexible ‘work-life’ options address the staff ‘burnout’ issues whilst the company’s ‘Refer a Friend’ scheme is an effective means of sourcing additional high calibre medical professionals into the right positions.

Making the difference for health charities

Although a profitable business, ID Medical has launched an internal fundraising programme to support and bring a proud donation to employee voted charities, all of which are within the healthcare sector. As hospital charities fight to raise funds and their profile, the company is partnering with its NHS clients to actively assist in reaching their fundraising goals through various initiatives.

Most recently, ID Medical organised a cake sale fundraiser for Milton Keynes Hospital’s ‘Leo’s Appeal’ to raise funds for its Paediatric ward, initiating its philanthropic partnership with the hospital. Milton Keynes Hospital Charity is hoping to raise £200,000 to enhance the time spent in hospital for babies, children and their families. Plus ID Medical has a flexible Payroll Giving scheme in place, allowing staff to donate regularly and on a tax-free basis to one of four employee-voted medical charities.

Demand for high calibre medical professionals is not going to go away any time soon. ID Medical continues to work closely with its valued NHS and private sector clients in their workforce planning to alleviate the shortage of skilled staff and help with every aspect of healthcare recruitment.

The human touch

Although technology certainly has its place within the business, ID Medical prides itself on its human touch, going beyond the traditional communication methods of email, telephone and SMS messaging. Face-to-face interaction is of utmost importance with candidate and clients regularly invited into its vibrant office environment to experience the operation in person and to meet their dedicated specialist individual and supporting team.

The company has over 70,000 candidates on its database, yet its recruitment consultants get to know every single candidate, understanding their aspirations, their hobbies and their personal circumstances to match them perfectly to desirable job openings. No-one gets overlooked.

Having said that, the need for increased use of streamlined digital technologies was recognised; adding innovative and simple entry points for candidates to register with ID Medical. The company’s dedicated business analytics team continually monitors all requirements received from its clients, enabling the team to evaluate and allocate its resources accordingly using real-time management information from internal and external sources.

Given the continual rate of change online, it seems more likely that the challenges of medical recruitment will be met not by reverting away from technology, but embracing it. Social media in particular is a critical tool for effective healthcare recruitment in attracting candidates and raising brand awareness.

Discover more about our award-winning Digital Staff Bank Technology!

ID Medical is proud to have partnered with Clarity Staff Bank to bring all NHS trusts an easy-to-use digital staffing platform that acts as a Roster System, Staff Bank and Agency Bank; creating an internal pool of compliant qualified staff that are available to fill staffing gaps and cover every aspect of their healthcare recruitment. Our technology guarantees you a more engaging, efficient and flexible alternative to traditional models.