The NHS Improvement price caps have gradually reduced the agency pay rates temporary NHS healthcare professionals can receive. The purpose is to help the NHS reduce its overall running cost and reduce the reliance on agencies to fill temporary staffing roles. A big part of this plan is to encourage NHS trusts to build staff banks and have them replace agencies as a first contact to fill shifts. In fact, NHS Improvement has found trusts that have a large pool of bank staff tend to be more effective at reducing agency use.
You can be a part of this campaign by joining Bank Partners and support your NHS trust offering your services at a competitive rate. Staff banks have not changed their rates as a result of this price cap. We are not governed by NHS Improvement in this matter. Instead, staff banks rates are determined directly by the NHS trust.
You may wonder why joining the Bank is better than remaining with your agency, and we hope this answers your question:
No more shopping around for the best agency pay rates
With the NHS Improvement rate caps, you may find it more difficult to find the high agency pay rates offered to you in the past. This is partly due to Trusts not wanting to breach these caps, as well as agencies not wanting to fall outside of the framework. Staff bank rates will remain the same no matter what the NHS Improvement do because our rates are set by the NHS trust. So when you join a bank you no longer need to spend your precious free time shopping around for a better rate.
An end of re-compliance checks
If you’re an agency nurse, and want to move to a new agency, perhaps shopping for a better rate or to get more regular shifts, you will have to go through compliance checks every time. This means constantly filling in forms, and contacting your references. Working with a staff bank means one compliance check. We keep track of your deadlines too, so if one of your certificates is due to expire we will remind you to renew it.
Better benefits
When you join a staff bank, you will receive the same benefits that you get as an agency worker such as competitive pay, weekly pay, and control over your availability to work, however with bank work you have the added benefit that you receive priority placement to work over agency workers, even if an agency worker is booked in, and you will find consistent shift opportunities as the NHS trust use their staff bank first.
Be part of a team
As an NHS staff bank worker you are not just a temp filling a role for any given trust. You become the first line of support for a trust ensuring patient safety is maintained, filling in for unforeseen vacancies caused by illness, or supporting staff shortages. You and your peers are part of the trust team, which is why your uniform will have the trust name on it. In fact, many bank workers are also substantive workers, and by regularly working for the trust, when permanent opportunities open up, you already have a working relationship with the trust giving you an edge should you want to apply for the job.
You can register with the bank here, or visit one of the NHS trust bank sites to apply directly for a role.