Annual Review 2021-22: Putting People in Places to Care

NHS Professionals is the NHS’s largest flexible staff bank and this annual review tells the story of our recovery, delivery, and growth as a business after a period that challenged both us and the wider healthcare economy. It describes how our teams worked with our Bank Members, Trusts, and ICS clients to continue delivering safe and effective care. It also reports progress on our ambitious transformation agenda to support the NHS’s evolution.

Here is a summary of our key results:

Performance

  • We delivered 39 million hours of patient care, our highest-ever total
  • We returned an £ 18 million dividend to our shareholder, the Department of Health and Social Care
  • We saved our client Trusts £6.5million in agency costs
  • Our registered Bank Membership increased by 10,000 to 193,000 clinical and non-clinical professionals
  • We worked with 141 NHS Trusts, including 54 full Managed Service Provider partner Trusts and 81 modular service Trusts
  • We recruited more than 1,000 entry-level healthcare support workers and non-clinical recruitment grew by 27%
  • We won two APSCo industry awards: Managed Service Provider of the Year, and Recruiter of the Year

Innovation

  • We co-designed workforce support solutions with four Integrated Care Systems and linked them with many others nationwide
  • We developed advanced plans for the 2023 launch of our new NHS Professionals Academy, providing gold-standard clinical and non-clinical education and training for individuals, Trusts, and ICSs
  • We piloted a new comprehensive Agency Management Service to support Trusts choose ‘Bank before Agency’ and reduce external agency spend
  • We advanced major plans to transform our core operational model, including fully upgraded digital services and simpler, faster, and smarter internal systems
  • We went live with our new National Bank service, which gives Trusts even greater access to a wide range of healthcare professionals across the country

The health and care sector faces significant pressures, especially around the workforce, as we emerge from the pandemic period and into the new era of integrated care. However, there are also real opportunities for positive change to enhance care, optimise our available workforce through collaboration and make local systems more inclusive and sustainable in the long-term.

Our 2021-22 Annual Report is now available for download here.