Why it pays to work with an agency

Whilst lockdown measures are beginning to ease, we are still in the midst of the worst healthcare crisis of our time. Before the COVID-19 crisis, there were already approximately 120,000 vacancies for care home roles across the UK. With many care homes affected by staff absences of up to 25% due to staff self-isolating and the national volunteering push focusing on asking people to help the NHS, care establishments can turn to agencies for much-needed support and uphold their staffing levels. 

In October 2019, a few months before the global pandemic, Care Home Professional reported that staffing shortages were the number one issue care homes faced. With an aging population, demand for care is rising and providing high-quality care depends on having the right mix of people with the right skills and values, in the right place at the right time. Securing a large enough workforce to meet these rise in demands is a systemic challenge facing the health and social care sectors in the UK. As a care home provider, the risks of being understaffed can lead to inadequate staff-to-patient ratios resulting in poorer patient safety and service quality, which in turn, can lead to the closure of services.

Using nursing and care agencies to cover staff shortages is an effective means to providing a flexible workforce. In 2017, a study into the increase in agency use revealed that staff are not only utilised as a short-term contingency to cover inevitable staff sickness, but trends demonstrated longer-term placements increasing to address these systemic staffing issues. 

At Nurseplus, we understand the concerns of care providers around engaging agency staff. In the same study conducted by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, care home management and NHS trusts were asked about their views on using agencies to bolster their staffing levels. The most common theme was in relation to their own establishment's ability to provide continuity of service. We’ve always offered block-booking as part of our services which means that our nursing and residential home clients can ensure continuity of care to their service users - which is particularly important in these challenging times to limit the number of people entering an establishment. 

The UK Government recently announced a support package backed by a £600 million adult social care infection control fund to keep care homes safe during COVID-19. Being able to block-book agency staff means that our clients can comply with the government requirements to reduce workforce movement between care homes and minimise the risk to service users and care staff. In line with this, we’re seeing an increase in requests for one-to-one support as an effective infection control method as it means that staff remain in one establishment, with one service user.

We also offer a variety of service agreements to our clients meaning that our rates can vary depending on the package to give our clients the best value for money when using Nurseplus agency staff. From First Call and Preferred Supplier List agreements, we strive to provide our clients with high-quality, fully trained staff when they need them most. We have a wide range of options available meaning that we are able to support care homes of all sizes during these challenging times.

Speak to your local branch to find out how we can best support you.