Reports suggest Wes Streeting will explain more this week about a mooted ban on the use of agency staff at entry-level roles such as healthcare assistants and domestic support workers.
In the letter sent today (Mon) REC Deputy Chief Executive Kate Shoesmith said a mooted ban on agency workers reported this weekend is a ‘short-sighted and ill-informed’ move. Kate Shoesmith also expressed alarm at the timing of the potential announcement while a major consultation on NHS remains open, and without engaging in any consultation from stakeholders; ‘it betrays the government’s repeated claims that they want to work collaboratively with business’.
In the letter, Kate Shoesmith said:
“Banning agency workers represents a fundamental misunderstanding of where the flaws in the NHS staffing lie given contingent workers play a valuable role in maintaining NHS staffing levels and people the choice they want to work in a more balanced, flexible way.”
REC argues that simply banning agency workers does not resolve this issue, and instead shifts the burden of staffing costs to NHS banks. Banks are not subject to the same pricing controls as agencies are. Banning agency workers would save pennies in the short term but would lead to an overall increase in staffing costs in the long run. A ban would also increase shortages in the NHS as many agency staff would not move into permanent roles, they would just leave the sector.
Kate Shoesmith said:
“The staffing frameworks are unfit for purpose having not been revised in the eight years since they were introduced, and this has driven NHS trusts to use more expensive off-framework provision. Working with the recruitment industry, the government could completely redesign public sector procurement frameworks to provide the best value for patient safety and the taxpayer but our consistent calls for partnership remain ignored.
“REC would like to work with Wes Streeting to deliver a fundamental review into framework and off-framework practices, to develop a modernised strategy that will help support the wider reforms the system needs.”
