REC response to government rallying cry on NHS

“The government is right to cast the net wide looking for ideas to improve the NHS. The crisis in NHS staffing has been caused by years of top-down thinking that treats staff as if they are volunteers rather than employees. A better offer for all staff in terms of working lives, and embracing the fact that people want to work in different ways, including via agencies, will be a vital part of any successful approach. Sustainable frameworks for temporary staffing, which treat temps well, mean big changes to the current approach. Government has wasted money by chasing temp rates that workers will not accept, in so doing driving up the number of expensive emergency shifts that have to be taken. It has spent pounds saving pennies – as the fact that NHS internal banks are often more expensive than agency shows. This is all fixable – but it requires a genuine partnership between workforce experts, unions and the NHS to deliver sustainable staffing, great careers and good value. We’re ready to play our part.”