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In November the government announced major changes to “clamp down” on the NHS’ £3 billion annual spend on agency staff. Health and Social Care Secretary Rt. Hon. Wes Streeting MP laid out plans in a speech at the NHS Providers conference, with reforms aimed at stabilising the workforce and improving financial efficiency.

The key propositions include a ban on agency staff for entry-level roles. This means that NHS trusts may be restricted from using agencies to fill entry-level roles, reducing costs and bringing consistency to patient care teams.
In an attempt to retain skilled workers in permanent roles, the government will also limit NHS staff’s ability to resign and immediately return as more expensive agency workers.

NHS England will soon launch a broader consultation to gather input from staff and stakeholders.

Higher pay isn’t the only reason healthcare professionals choose to join agencies and leave the NHS. Agency work can offer flexible hours, and the ability to control their workload, with the capacity to reduce and avoid burnout, is a major factor. Gaining a variety of experience and the potential for career progression are also contributing factors.

Though these are bold steps to curb agency dependency and reinvest savings in patient care, unless changes are made in supporting the healthcare workforce regarding conditions, workload pressures, and burnout, the likely outcome will be a much-reduced healthcare workforce.

Will these changes address deeper issues, like long-term staffing shortages and workload pressures? Or just add further pressure?

What are your thoughts on these reforms? What impact will these steps have on the delivery of patient care and NHS efficiency?