Hancock’s call to reduce NHS agency staff is a step in the right direction – but support is needed

Following the Health Secretary’s calls to crackdown on the NHS’s use of agency staff, Philip Braham, co-founder of Remedium Partners - a consultancy which specialises in the recruitment of overseas permanent doctors to ease the Trusts’ reliance on agency locums – has welcomed this move as a positive step:

“As we’ve long stressed, the on-going use of agency locums creates an unsustainable environment that can be hugely costly to the NHS. We know that agency locums have their place as a short-term resource in the health economy, but they should not be the “go to” staffing solution. When we further consider that consistency is critical to providing the best possible patient care, looking at increasing permanent headcount and reducing the reliance on agency locums makes perfect sense.

“Of course, there are talent challenges that Trusts are facing, but with the Tier 2 visa cap lifted for doctors, the NHS can tap into rich international talent pools much easier. In fact, since this action was taken in July, we’ve noted a significant increase in the approval of Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), particularly in non-shortage occupations. This suggests that there are already positive steps being made to increase permanent headcount and streamline recruitment processes.

“In order to ensure this more strategic approach to resource planning continues, however, there will need to be on-going guidance across Trusts and a real drive from the top as to why this approach is best for both the NHS and patients. We hope that in his role as “executive chairman of the system as a whole” Mr Hancock continues to spread the message across Trusts to think long term, not locum.”

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For more information, please contact Vickie Collinge, at BlueSky PR on 01582 790 705 or email vickie@bluesky-pr.com

About Remedium Partners

Established in 2013, Remedium Partners is fast becoming one of the leading providers of permanent and fixed-term doctors into the NHS. At Remedium Partners, we believe that placing permanent and fixed term doctors, rather than locums, saves the health service time and money. Having placed over 700 doctors since we were founded, we estimate to have saved the NHS in excess of £70M.

With over 20 years healthcare and recruitment experience collectively, our team truly understand the market we operate in and the qualities of our doctors, best matching them to the needs of our clients. The positions we work on require a unique understanding of medical specialties and our team of highly experienced market specialists, both in the UK and India, enable us to source high calibre candidates from around the world.