Bradford Teaching Hospitals Wins Top NHS Workforce Planning Team Award

The Flexible Workforce Team at Bradford Teaching Hospitals has been named Our Health Heroes winners in the national Workforce Planning Team of The Year category.

Today (20th November) more than 200 guests, including Baroness Dido Harding and Prerana Issar (Chief People Officer at NHS Improvement), gathered for the fourth annual Our Health Heroes awards at London’s Science Museum.

Organised by Skills for Health and headline sponsor Health Education England, the national awards, which were hosted by Dr Dawn Harper and included a performance by former doctor turned writer Adam Kay, celebrated unsung healthcare heroes from across the UK.

The Flexible Workforce Team from Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is made up of nurse bank, e-rostering and the locum booking teams who are responsible for managing the temporary workforce across the trust, from cover for bank and agency doctors through to paying invoices.  

The 10-strong team understand the importance of filling every shift to ensure that patient care is consistent and safe, and by increasing the internal nurse bank by 30 per cent they have significantly reduced the need for agency staff in just six months.

In 2016, the team were challenged to reduce agency spend by £6 million. Over the last three years they have already saved £9.4 million, having worked together to challenge agency use and negotiate hourly rates daily.

Rachel Pyrah, Flexible Workforce Services Manager at Bradford Teaching Hospitals, said: “I am delighted that our department has won the national Our Health Heroes award for the Workforce Planning Team of the Year. 

“I am extremely proud of the hard work the whole team has put in to achieve the results we have seen over the last three years. This award is recognition of the dedication, commitment and passion that every single member of the team puts into their role.

“They work tirelessly to support clinical staff in rostering and in the deployment of temporary staff to ensure quality services and patient care are maintained.”

John Rogers, Chief Executive at Skills for Health, said: “The Workforce Planning Team Award was a popular category for nominations, which just goes to show that healthcare professionals, like those who make up the Flexible Workforce Team at Bradford Teaching Hospitals, are regularly going the extra mile for staff and patients.

“Congratulations to the whole team on being named winners; this award is a testament to their hard work and commitment to their work.

Healthcare professionals submitted more than 880 nominations across eight award categories, but in the Workforce Planning Team category there was a clear winner according to the judging panel.

Locum’s Nest, an app which connects clinicians to bank work in healthcare organisations, is the sponsor for this category.

Co-Founder of Locum’s Nest, Ahmed Shahrabani, said: “Congratulations to Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for winning the Workforce Planning Team of the Year award.

“The three teams involved in this project have clearly demonstrated the outcomes of effective collaboration by achieving an impressive saving of £9.4 million on agency spend.”

Laura Roberts, Director at Health Education England (HEE), said: “As the headline sponsor for Our Health Heroes 2019, we want to congratulate everyone who made it to the shortlist and further offer our congratulations to the winners of this year’s awards.

“It is clear from the high standard of nominations that our NHS teams continue to play a vital role in delivering safe and compassionate care for all.

“We are delighted to see teams like these recognised for the role they play within our NHS and the dedication and passion they bring to their staff and patients. It is truly down to these Health Heroes that the NHS can be the wonderful service that it is today.”