Agency hours were reduced from nearly 58,000 per month to around 27,000
830 healthcare professionals were recruited and onboarded, including over 500 Nursing staff
Building trust through shared values and collaborative problem-solving led to measurable improvements and a successful implementation of new processes and technology, benefitting all stakeholders
The Situation
Following the pandemic, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust (OHFT), a mental health and community Trust, faced a variety of challenges in managing its temporary staffing needs. With a broad geographic area covering Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Swindon, Bath, and North East Somerset, the Trust needed to stabilise its bank workforce and reduce its reliance on agency staff. Employing over 6,000 staff and delivering services across various settings, the Trust initially had approximately 2,425 bank workers. The primary motivations for outsourcing to NHS Professionals (NHSP) in 2023 were to leverage expertise in bank management, recruitment, and supply chain management.
The Solution
NHSP designed and implemented a comprehensive Managed Bank solution to grow OHFT’s Bank workforce and reduce the amount of agency usage across the Trust. Over the past 2 years, our close collaboration has grown and stabilised the Bank workforce by recruiting and onboarding 830 new starters, including over 500 Nursing staff in 2024/25 alone.
Our approach involved building trust with stakeholders across OHFT including contract owners, managerial and clinical stakeholders, as well as workforce and ward leads. By aligning shared values and working towards the common goal of improving patient care and reducing costs, we successfully implemented new technology and processes. Collaborative problem-solving and data analysis were key to developing solutions and building confidence in the new system.
The Results
The partnership between OHFT and NHSP has delivered a significant reduction in agency usage, from nearly 58,000 hours per month to around 27,000 hours per month by February 2025. This reduction highlights the success of our recruitment and onboarding strategy.
The Trust continues to benefit from improvements in workforce stability and cost savings, demonstrating the positive impact of our collaboration.