94% total shift fill
£1.9m savings via direct engagement
£500K+ agency migration savings
The Situation
NHS Professionals (NHSP) works with NHS Trusts in Hertfordshire and West Essex to provide a collaborative Bank for Nursing, Midwifery and doctors. Since 2017, Doctors Direct has provided a consistent, region‑wide medical staffing service. In 2025, the Trusts identified an opportunity to strengthen how technology supported medical workforce management. The ambition was to create a more joined‑up, data‑led approach that improved visibility, control and efficiency, while laying the foundations for a future collaborative doctors’ Bank.
The Solution
East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust, Princess Alexandra Hospitals NHS Trust and Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust aligned their medical Bank models through Doctors Direct, supported by a single technology platform. Patchwork Health was introduced as an end‑to‑end workforce solution, enabling a unified and tech‑enabled approach to temporary medical staffing.
The platform enhanced visibility, strengthened compliance and improved the experience for both clinicians and hiring managers. Consistent processes were embedded across all sites, supporting direct engagement for medical staff and robust agency management controls. NHSP worked closely with each Trust to provide tailored workforce insights, drive effective supply‑chain management and target areas of historic agency reliance. This was underpinned by high‑touch engagement, regular performance reviews and continuous optimisation of the medical Bank.
The Result
The introduction of Patchwork, supported by the Doctors Direct regional model, delivered significant improvements across the Hertfordshire Bank Network. Medical shift fill reached 94%, representing a year‑on‑year increase of 7%. Full adoption of direct engagement generated £1.9m in savings between April 2025 and March 2026, with a further £500,000 achieved through agency cost reduction initiatives. These outcomes strengthened staffing resilience, improved cost control and delivered a consistent, high‑quality experience for Trusts and doctors.
“The introduction of Patchwork at East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust has been extremely well received by all users. Its intuitive interface has made navigation simple, while providing clear visibility of tasks and their status. Four months on from our go live date, we are starting to see the value of the platform’s insights, which help identify trends and opportunities to reduce temporary staffing demand and spend, alongside supporting effective workforce management.”
Eve Malcolm, Interim Head of Temporary Staffing and eRostering, East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust