Critical issues in staff procurement

It is no secret that the new coalition Government will need to make massive cuts to public sector spending if the UK is to have any hope of balancing its precarious budget – and the NHS is one area that is bound to feel the effects. A recent survey of 150,000 NHS workers by healthcare regulator, the Care Quality Commission, found that around half of NHS staff already felt rushed or understaffed and four in ten said there were conflicting demands on their job. Given this situation with regard to staffing, the Government previously promised that it would not make cuts on the NHS frontline – but are these commitments realistic? There is great pressure to slash budgets, and even if these cuts are not made directly on the frontline, there will be pressure on NHS procurement to make substantial savings. It is unlikely that frontline staff will completely escape from these “hidden” cuts. All these factors make the provision of temporary workers a critical issue. Temporary healthcare staff are key to the NHS, as without a large number of them, it would not be possible for the health service to sustain a decent level of care. The NHS cannot afford to recruit more permanent staff – it simply cannot support a workforce big enough to cover every eventuality (with the exception of unforeseen emergencies). The fixed costs involved, which include not only base salary, but also everything from pensions to sick leave and absenteeism to back office and administration, would just be too high. Instead, the NHS takes on short-term help when, and where, it is needed, to supplement the work of permanent staff, allowing hospitals to only deploy extra help when it is absolutely necessary. Turning the tap on and off at very short notice saves the NHS ongoing fixed costs, while allowing the service to maintain good levels of patient care. Because of this, having access to these quality temporary workers is crucial.

Financial pressures

With the NHS already understaffed, management is stuck between a rock and a hard place – they need more staff but, at the same time, they are under pressure from budgets and the need to cut costs. This is where the procurement framework comes in. Buying Solutions has inherited what used to be the PASA Framework and is the national procurement partner for UK public services. Its primary role is “to maximise the value for money obtained by Government departments and other public bodies through the procurement and supply of goods and services”. In other words it is designed to make finding suppliers an easy and efficient process for public sector organisations like the NHS. These suppliers include those that provide staff, the vital cog in the NHS machine. This is of course essential in order to give hospitals the access to staff that they need. However, does it go far enough to cover everyone’s requirements?