Research at two NHS A&E departments shows inexperienced temps can negatively impact work of permanent staff

Abstract

Purpose

The authors wanted to find out if hiring temporary staff at busy A&E departments had a negative impact on the work of permanent staff.

Design/methodology/approach

They did semi-structured interviews with managers and permanent staff at two London NHS hospitals with different policies for hiring temps. Hospital A prioritized the use of NHS professions for its bank and agency nurses, as well as doctors and locums. Hospital B focused more on using its own internal bank staff as temps.

Findings

The findings showed the generally negative effect of using temporary staff on permanent staff. But the reaction of permanent staff depended on the type of temporary staff. More experienced temps could generally be trusted to get on with the job, whereas the inexperienced ones required more supervision.

Originality/value

The authors proposed an approach to improved practice beginning with “macro-level managers” who could maintain service quality as a higher priority than contracting costs. They could also encourage permanent staff to do occasional temporary shifts. The co-authors also felt that “meso-level managers” could be given the role of hiring “preferred temps” where possible.

Citation

(2020), "Research at two NHS A&E departments shows inexperienced temps can negatively impact work of permanent staff", Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 28 No. 6, pp. 5-7. https://doi.org/10.1108/HRMID-12-2019-0283