We are witnessing a shift in work preferences, as much among skilled workers as among unskilled. However, the NHS continues to spend over £3 billion annually on agency staff. Tens of thousands of vacant posts (especially nurses) force trusts to use temporary staff. The time for change is now.
Worse still, NHS staff resign to then immediately provide services via an agency at wildly inflated figures. And why shouldn’t they benefit from the higher pay rates and greater flexibility granted to agency workers? Instead of the NHS trying to prevent this exodus, it needs to provide the flexibility that many of its staff so desire.
People increasingly value and desire flexibility over traditional 9-to-5 jobs. Is it mistaken to believe this desire is exclusive to Gen Z and Millennials?
They want to earn income on their own schedule, whether full-time or part-time.
So much nursing talent and experience, for example, is being lost to the NHS through an inflexible employment model. There will be hundreds of thousands of competent nurses who would return to work part-time if empowered to do so, perhaps juggling parenthood and school runs.
Would this work? Here’s why
Because we developed just this kind of system for ADHD therapists for a client..
That client now provides thousands of therapists to many NHS trusts across the UK because it empowers therapists to work self-employed and flexibly.
The freelance management system (FMS)
This is a comprehensive platform that allows healthcare professionals to work as independent contractors, managing their own schedules and clients. It provides a range of benefits, including flexibility, increased earning potential, and the ability to work across multiple healthcare providers.
It is time the NHS considered cutting out agency extortion by introducing its own universal freelance management system (FMS) across nursing, for starters. It could achieve this by developing a digital platform that connects healthcare professionals with NHS trusts, allowing them to negotiate their own contracts and schedules. Empower nurses to work around school and other commitments to have flexible scheduling.
The NHS will only become a victim of providers using such technology if it does not drive its own technology. However, with a well-designed FMS, the NHS can ensure that all healthcare professionals meet the same high standards of care, regardless of their employment status.
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©˙Matthew Rymer
All writing and ideas are my own.
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