Managing director Rhonda Oliver Editor in chief Jean Gray Editor Graham Scott Deputy editor Elaine Cole (maternity leave) Acting deputy editor Janet Snell Assistant editor Roger Evans ART&SCIENCE Editor Gwen Clarke Deputy editors Sonia Davies, Tanya Fernandes Clinical editor Noreen Begley NEWS & VIEWS News editor Sarah Harrison Deputy news editor Sally Gillen Reporters Jennifer Sprinks, Kat Keogh Development editor Frances Pickersgill Features editor Thelma Agnew Reflections editor Clare Lomas PRODUCTION & DESIGN Head of production Fiona Maclean Senior production editor Julie Hickey Production manager Arnie Beeson Production editors Sarah Howe, Jennifer Oldfield Deputy production editor Justin Stevens Sub editors Yvonne Byron Nour, Joyce McKimm, Jennifer Saunders Art directors Ken McLoone, Paul Swainson Deputy art director Minesh Parmar Designer Sujata Aurora Picture editor Philip Brecht Deputy picture editor Helen Jones Assistant picture editor Karen Gordon Production assistant Annette Taylor-Anderson Ad production executives Sally Gauntlett, Sue Horn IT AND NEW MEDIA Technology director John Day Manager Alex Oldfield Web editor Amanda Carter IT assistant Kerry Taylor ADMINISTRATION Administration manager Maria O’Brien Editorial administrative assistants Sarah Musisi, Jane Yates BUSINESS UNIT Commercial director Tony O’Rourke PA to commercial director Angelina George Head of marketing Helen Sumner Deputy head of marketing Michelle Day Events executive Rachel Weeden Subscriptions manager Beryl John Group educational projects manager Laura Downes RGN Advertisement and sponsorship sales manager Neil Hobson Senior sponsorship and advertising specialist Julia Gomersall Advertisement and sponsorship executives Rachel Fisher, Kelly Smith Classified sales manager Andy McCallum Sales project specialist Freddie Collier Classified sales executives Mandy Croggon, Shona Gethin, Pamela Gethin, Stephanie Mackrill SUBSCRIPTIONS
Personal rates from £76.80 a year. Telephone 0345 772 6100 Institutional rates from £675 a year. Send all enquiries to [email protected] Visit www.nursing-standard.co.uk for details. CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS
The Heights, 59-65 Lowlands Road, Harrow-on-the-Hill, Middlesex HA1 3AW Tel: +44 (0)20 8423 1333 Fax: +44 (0)20 8872 3197 ISSN 0029-6570 Email: [email protected] You can email staff at Nursing Standard in the following way: (first name).(second name)@rcnpublishing.co.uk Nursing Standard is published every Wednesday by RCN Publishing Company Ltd, the publishing company of the Royal College of Nursing. It seeks to promote professional excellence, and encourage creativity and innovation in nursing, midwifery and health visiting practice. Nursing Standard also aims to enhance nurses’ and healthcare assistants’ career development and to help them achieve and maintain a healthy and rewarding working environment. Nursing Standard is editorially independent and the opinions expressed are not those of the RCN or of the contributor’s employing organisation unless specifically stated. Acceptance of an advertisement does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement of a product or service, either by the RCN or RCN Publishing.
Editorial Graham Scott EDITOR
Workforce planning needs to improve Agency nurses invariably receive a bad press. Their positive contribution to the health service is often overlooked amid headlines about how much they cost, and the threat they pose to continuity of care. Yet the NHS could not survive without them. Working for an agency can bring many benefits, both for the individual nurse and his or her employer. The flexibility afforded by nurses who prefer (or need) to pick and choose when they work can prove invaluable when there is a sudden or unexpected shortage of staff on a ward or in a community team. Managers are sometimes left with a short-term vacancy that can only be filled by someone from an agency or bank.
IT IS NOT AGENCY NURSES’ FAULT THAT ONE-OFF PAYMENTS CAN RUN INTO HUNDREDS OF POUNDS
Nonetheless, the amount of money spent on agency nurses is eye-watering. A Nursing Standard survey of 100 NHS trusts and health boards across the UK reveals that their total spend topped £175 million in 2012/13, up by £32 million on the previous 12 months. Workforce planning in nursing is notoriously complex, but it must be possible for supply and demand to be in better harmony. Within a matter of months there can be newly qualified nurses unable to find work, then a shortage that prompts a flood of recruits from overseas. Over the past three years there has been a drop of 5,000 in the number of nurses working in England’s health service, followed now by a promise that almost 4,000 staff will be recruited to fill the gaps that have been left. Agency nurses find themselves caught in the middle. It is not their fault that successive governments have made decisions on staffing levels based on the current financial year and the electoral cycle. Nor can they be blamed when managers approve one-off payments running into hundreds of pounds for a single shift. See news page 7 and analysis page 14 Air your views on
Nursing Standard and
Join our new Journal Club
@NScomment
Journal Club
This Friday (and every fortnight) you can discuss one of our articles on Twitter using #NursingJC. #NursingJC Go to www.nursing-standard.co.uk to download the latest free article.
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Personal rates from £76.80 a year. Telephone 0345 772 6100 Institutional rates from £675 a year. Send all enquiries to [email protected] Visit www.nursing-standard.co.uk for details. CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS
The Heights, 59-65 Lowlands Road, Harrow-on-the-Hill, Middlesex HA1 3AW Tel: +44 (0)20 8423 1333 Fax: +44 (0)20 8872 3197 ISSN 0029-6570 Email: [email protected] You can email staff at Nursing Standard in the following way: (first name).(second name)@rcnpublishing.co.uk Nursing Standard is published every Wednesday by RCN Publishing Company Ltd, the publishing company of the Royal College of Nursing. It seeks to promote professional excellence, and encourage creativity and innovation in nursing, midwifery and health visiting practice. Nursing Standard also aims to enhance nurses’ and healthcare assistants’ career development and to help them achieve and maintain a healthy and rewarding working environment. Nursing Standard is editorially independent and the opinions expressed are not those of the RCN or of the contributor’s employing organisation unless specifically stated. Acceptance of an advertisement does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement of a product or service, either by the RCN or RCN Publishing.
Editorial Graham Scott EDITOR
Workforce planning needs to improve Agency nurses invariably receive a bad press. Their positive contribution to the health service is often overlooked amid headlines about how much they cost, and the threat they pose to continuity of care. Yet the NHS could not survive without them. Working for an agency can bring many benefits, both for the individual nurse and his or her employer. The flexibility afforded by nurses who prefer (or need) to pick and choose when they work can prove invaluable when there is a sudden or unexpected shortage of staff on a ward or in a community team. Managers are sometimes left with a short-term vacancy that can only be filled by someone from an agency or bank.
IT IS NOT AGENCY NURSES’ FAULT THAT ONE-OFF PAYMENTS CAN RUN INTO HUNDREDS OF POUNDS
Nonetheless, the amount of money spent on agency nurses is eye-watering. A Nursing Standard survey of 100 NHS trusts and health boards across the UK reveals that their total spend topped £175 million in 2012/13, up by £32 million on the previous 12 months. Workforce planning in nursing is notoriously complex, but it must be possible for supply and demand to be in better harmony. Within a matter of months there can be newly qualified nurses unable to find work, then a shortage that prompts a flood of recruits from overseas. Over the past three years there has been a drop of 5,000 in the number of nurses working in England’s health service, followed now by a promise that almost 4,000 staff will be recruited to fill the gaps that have been left. Agency nurses find themselves caught in the middle. It is not their fault that successive governments have made decisions on staffing levels based on the current financial year and the electoral cycle. Nor can they be blamed when managers approve one-off payments running into hundreds of pounds for a single shift. See news page 7 and analysis page 14 Air your views on
Nursing Standard and
Join our new Journal Club
@NScomment
Journal Club
This Friday (and every fortnight) you can discuss one of our articles on Twitter using #NursingJC. #NursingJC Go to www.nursing-standard.co.uk to download the latest free article.
:: vol 28without no 15 ::permission. 2013 3 Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 03, 2015. For personal december use only. No11 other uses Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
