The government should take steps to encourage the NHS to utilise interim workers such as freelancers and umbrella company contractors to fix staffing problems.
At least, that’s the opinion of the healthcare department of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, which recently said that the NHS has a bitter pill of its own to swallow when it comes to the challenges its currently facing. When combined with government ministers remarking that one of the biggest priorities for this year is to improve the standard of health care in the UK, the REC says that the government must make use of short term interim staffing solutions such as umbrella contractors to keep up with rising levels of demand.
REC Healthcare will be meeting in the coming week in order to discuss how innovative approaches such as flexible working can aid the NHS during 2013. Chairman for the REC department, Andrew Horner, says that these new staffing methods are integral for helping to not just improve current NHS services but also to deliver the changes that government minister want to implement with the UK healthcare system.
The government must engage in a full, open, and honest debate in how to improve patient care and experience, added Mr Horner, stating that unless new ways of working are adopted by the NHS any attempts to actually institute change will almost assuredly fall flat. Several different employmen sectors are increasing their use for temporary workers, the REC says, with December reaching a 20-month high for demand as measured by overall job vacancies.
